


Broken Hearts

by Ajnovels



Series: Broken Things [3]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Blueberry's at it again, Emotional Manipulation, Except Adira she's nuts, F/M, Family Issues, Gen, Manipulation, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Moon!Varian, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Relationships, Poor boy is so lost, Sad Rapunzel, Sad Varian (Disney), Sad everyone really, Season 3 rewrite, Series Finale, Varian Angst (Disney), Varian Has Issues (Disney), act three, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26168200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ajnovels/pseuds/Ajnovels
Summary: Rapunzel has lost, and lost, and lost. Every waking moment of her life has been an opportunity slipped through her fingers. A chance she took and suffered the backlash from.But, of course, there is always more to lose.The kingdom she's never set foot in. The parents she'd never known. The friends she still has left....And perhaps even herself.________
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney), Ruddiger & Varian (Disney), Varian & Vex (Disney: Tangled), Varian/Vex (Disney: Tangled), Zhan Tiri & Varian
Series: Broken Things [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568461
Comments: 107
Kudos: 87





	1. Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian realizes what he's done and the path he's paving ahead of him.
> 
> Rapunzel and her remaining friends finally decide to go home.
> 
> _______

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOHOOOO Act three!!! Are yall excited? I sure am.
> 
> This is gonna be a little thing to get us started, get the plot lines unraveling, yadda yadda. Some of it was planned and some of it happened while I was writing. So, I'm gonna toss a few coins and hope for the best.
> 
> Please do enjoy! <3

Varian was alone.

There wasn’t so much as a sound. No words. No shouting. No laughter. Nothing he’d become used to over his time with his new friends on the road.

There was _nothing_ but the black rocks around him and his own reflection, illuminated by the shimmering blue stone embedded right over his heart.

He’d been sitting for a long time. Hours, at least. Maybe days. Hunger came and went. Fatigue dragged him further towards the floor with every passing second, but his body refused to budge. His mind hadn’t yet caught up.

What had he done?

“You protected her, you know,” She said, fading into view. Her giant eyes, much too big for her face, were alight with sympathy. Tiny fingers settled under his chin to tilt it up to look at her. There was a small smile on the blue girl’s lips. “Rapunzel is alive because of you.”

“I made them angry,” Varian breathed, the words leaving quietly and without his bidding.

“Only because they don’t understand, my dear. They will be angry and hostile towards you. That is the way of humans, isn’t it? To hate what they don’t understand?” She floated around him in a circle, hand brushing over his back and fluffing his hair. “Like how no one ever understood the good you wanted to do for them back home.”

He hesitated.

“...You’re right.” The whisper came a little stronger this time. “I’ve never been understood.”

“Never. But, well, now you have me.”  
He glanced up at her. “What… who are you?”

Her smile widened. “A friend. Well, at least, I’d like to be.”

“But… your name?”

“Ah.” She clicked her tongue, circling around him once more before tapping the stone on his chest. “Well, you see, I don’t really have a name. Moonstone, Opal, Destroyer, Evil One, Seductress.” She pulled back, eyeing him. “But I am not evil.”

“No.” He shook his head. “No, you helped me.”

“Indeed. And now you are helping me in return.” She crossed her tiny arms. “You may call me Luna, spirit of the Moonstone.”

He nodded. “I’m… um, well, I guess you know, huh?”

Luna giggled, one dainty hand over her mouth. “Varian Quirinsson. Of course I know you. I have been watching you a long time.” She floated down to sit on the ground, elaborate embroidered skirts poofing out around her. Small gloved hands patted her twin buns, making sure not a hair was out of place. “You are the perfect person to carry the Moonstone. The perfect wielder of my power.”

He perked up, back straightening just a bit, even though his knees remained tucked against his chest. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm. Smart, humble, good with risks. Willing to do what must be done.” She reached out to pat his knee. “You’re a good person, Varian. I was right to choose you.”

A slow smile took hold of his features, making his eyes glow a bit brighter blue. “So what do I do? How do I help you now?”

“Simple!” She hopped up, gliding back into the air. “You see, the Sundrop must reunite with the Moonstone. It is the natural order. But death, of course, will taint the process, and we don’t want anyone killed, do we?”

He shook his head quickly.

“So I need you to use the powers I’m giving you and find the sacred incantations bound to the Sundrop and myself. These will help you and Rapunzel awaken your power in its truest form and then, we can finally unite.”

He nodded, then frowned. “Wait. If you’re the moonstone, wouldn’t you know it?”

“Of course not, silly.” She bopped him on the nose, making him giggle a little. “The humans are the ones who created the incantations. I am pure power; out in the cosmos, there is no need for fancy words.”

“I… guess that makes sense.”

“It will make more in time. You are not used to the world of magic.” Her eyes tracked down to the Moonstone. “But that is about to change.”

“...Oh. Yeah. Right.” He cleared his throat. “The magic. How do I…?”

“Mm.” She floated back, tapping a knuckle to her lip. “It works differently for everyone. But the best way I can describe it… is to imagine the Moonstone’s power as a liquid. Let it fill you, flood into your veins. Let it cover and drown you, turn you into something different and better.”

He let out a breath. “...How do I do that?”

“Well, first close your eyes.”

He did.

“Do you feel its power?”

He slowly nodded. It was a pulsing, cold burst frozen in his chest, embedded so deeply he wondered if it was part of his heart now. “Yeah.”

“Now imagine that power flowing out into the rest of you. Like water.”

One of his brows furrowed. “I’m… I’m doing it.”

“You aren’t. You’re _envisioning_ it.” Tiny fingers settled on the stone, sending shivers through his body. Then they slowly tracked down, following the path of his artery down his arm. “Vision is, of course, only a small part of what we experience. You must _feel_ it, Varian, in your very blood.”

He tried. He really did. But it just… wouldn’t work. It remained stuck, solid like a glacier. He ground his teeth, grunting in frustration.

Luna sighed and he felt her pull away. “I had such high hopes for you, and yet…”

She didn’t need to finish the sentence. _You’re a failure after all._

_Failure._

_Freak._

_Weirdo._

_Disappointment._

The words flowed through him like acid, burning and bringing tears to his eyes and--

…

... _it flowed through him._

If he could just do that with the power…

He focused. Really focused. Saw and felt and smelled and tasted _power._

His veins lit up and so did he.

When he opened his eyes, it was to a giant smile. Luna watched as darkness overtook him, turning his clothes to ash only to be replaced with solid black crystal, hugging his skin and turning to one solid layer of smooth interlocking rock armor. A line of electric blue raced down from the stone, around his hip, down his leg, ending when it reached the floor. Spines rose on his forearms, shoulders, and ankles. A layer of rock covered over his neck, never squeezing but making him feel a bit as if he were going to choke.

“I knew you could do it,” Luna whispered, pride in her eyes.

And right then and there, Varian knew he’d made the right choice.

  
  


______

  
  


Cassandra collapsed, shaky arms holding her up. Her boots caught in a tiny divot in the mound of black crystal, trying their best to keep her from slipping. All the effort of climbing atop a slick, smooth mountain of stone and all for _nothing._ Nothing but dark, gloomy skies over a dark, gloomy countryside devoid of life.

“See anything?”

“No, Raps, I’m sorry.” She took in a huffing breath, trying to shove down the guilt twisting her heart and rising in her throat. If she’d just been quicker…

No, scratch that. If she hadn’t been such a self-absorbed _jerk._ Maybe Varian wouldn’t have deemed it necessary to screw up this badly.

Eugene sighed audibly down below. “Adira just got back with nothing. Lance and I are exhausted. I… guys, I don’t think…”

“No!” Rapunzel’s voice was strained. “No, we lost Varian, we _cannot_ leave without him!”

“Sunshine, it’s… it’s been a week. Edmund’s stores won’t last much longer trying to feed all of us.”

“We can’t just leave him behind!” Cassandra swung her legs over the side, perching on top of the stone hill, to watch Vex speak. The girl was standing by Rapunzel’s side, both hands on her hips and pinched face in a glare. “That idiot risked his life for Rapunzel!”

“I know that,” Eugene spoke quietly. His eyepatch was on, for once, but his one visible brown eye shone with warring emotions. “But I don’t think we’re gonna find him, Vex. Adira’s looked, we’ve looked, Cass has looked, you’ve looked, Sunshine’s looked. All the animals are still out trying to find him. Ruddiger’s been sniffing around on his own for days and Owl just got back. I think he’s moved on.”

“Trust him on this,” Lance put in, nodding and for once looking completely serious as he sat up on the log he’d been relaxing against. “We’re thieves. We know how getaways work. And the little guy’s made one.”

“Besides,” Adira cut in, dusting off her coat. “We’ve finished repairs on his balloon. Taking that, we should get back to Corona easily. From there, we take the last scrap of the scroll from Quirin and piece them all back together. Then we can end this mess.”

Cassandra could _see_ the refusal in Rapunzel’s eyes. Feel the hatred of the situation welling in her clenched bony fists. But, well, there was nothing she could do in the face of cold logic.

Sighing, she slipped back down the black-rock hill, dusting off her tunic to go put her good hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder. Her bad one might’ve been usable, but she didn’t care to deal with any more soreness than she had to. “Raps. Look. _Believe me,_ I feel just as terrible about this as you do. It’s my fault, in a lot of ways, I think. But we have to listen to reason.”

They held gazes for a long while before Rapunzel finally stepped away, blowing out a breath and tugging her hair. Pascal gave a concerned chirp from her shoulder, patting her cheek. “Okay. I-- yeah. You’re all right.”

“I’m sorry, Sunshine,” Eugene whispered, reaching to hug her. She fell into his arms, face pressed to his chest.

Vex stomped over to the balloon. Cassandra watched her go, plopping down in the basket with a tight huff and crossed arms and legs. But there were tears in her eyes.

She knew how the girl felt.

“I’ll get Edmund,” Adira said, her voice uncharacteristically soft as she headed back into the castle. The rest watched her go, silent but clamoring with thoughts.

She returned just as the other animals did. Cassandra jogged up to meet the horses, reaching to run her hands through Fidella’s mane. “Did you find anything?”

She shook her head and Stelle whinnied, scratching at the ground with her hooves and tossing her mane from side to side. Ruddiger squeaked on top of her, patting between her ears to try to get her to calm down.

“I thought not,” Cassandra murmured, heaving a sigh. “Well… the group’s decided to leave. Balloon’s ready.”

Fidella, Maximus, and Fancy all followed, loading up in the basket with all the rest of them. Stelle and Ruddiger… did not.

Rapunzel frowned from inside the basket. “Guys?”

Ruddiger waved his tail, chittering and pointing to the horizon.

“They’re not leaving him.” Vex’s voice tore their attention back to her, red-eyed and sour-looking in the back of the basket. “Just like we shouldn’t be.”

Adira sighed. “Vex--”

“Adira, you are _not_ my mother. I don’t want to hear any of your bul--”

“A Dark Knight,” Adira cut her off, eyes sharp, “Chooses her own path.”

Silence sat over the balloon and everyone stared at Vex. She, in turn, stared wide-eyed up at her mentor. “....Wait, what?”

“I knight you, Vex. Go.” She pointed to Ruddiger and Stelle, a tiny smile on the corner of her lips. “You know your path. Follow it.”

There was something _seriously_ wrong about this, and Cassandra was glad she didn’t seem to be the only one to notice. Lance, of all people, was the one to speak up as they watched Vex race back over to Stelle and Ruddiger. “Um… Adira, do you really think letting a child…”

“No, not at all.” She laughed, unnervingly carefree for a woman who’d just told a child to wander around a wasteland. “But she’s a Dark Knight now.”

“She… she’s barely fifteen--”

“And so was I when I first traveled into the Forest of No Return.” Her eyes glittered, a smug smile on her painted face. “She has training and wit. She’ll live.”

Eugene’s wave caught Cassandra’s attention. Rapunzel didn’t seem to hear any of it, just staring out over the castle with haunted eyes, thoughts miles and miles away.

She nodded. “Alright, everyone. We’re loaded up. Let’s get back to Corona.”

“Back home,” Lance sighed, joined by Maximus’s forced-enthusiastic whinny. “Let’s get going, you guys.”

Rapunzel never stopped staring all the way up, staring at the dark spire of the castle as the clouds swallowed it whole.

Nothing would be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what are your thoughts? Expectations? Did Adira do the right thing?
> 
> Lmk! I always love hearing from you and I'm hyped to deliver an Act Three you'll (I hope!!!!!) all love.
> 
> Thank you for reading!!! <3


	2. Runaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and company return to Corona. Meanwhile, Vex continues her search for a runaway Varian.
> 
> ______

The clouds broke slowly, a layer of thick cotton wool ripping in half little by little. They had been riding for two days, long enough for hunger to start gnawing at Rapunzel’s insides and arguments to break out among her friends. She didn’t blame them, but she didn’t have the energy to try to calm them, either. Her heart was heavy and her stomach was in knots.

She couldn’t stop seeing Varian’s wide, hurt, glowing eyes.

“Hey, Cass, look! Home sweet home, eh?”

“Finally.” Cassandra huffed, turning to stalk over to the edge of the basket and peer over. Owl hooted from his perch on her forearm, fluttering his wings. “Been way too long.”

Maximus whinnied his agreement even as he butted heads-- literally-- with Eugene. Fidella rolled her eyes and snorted at them, clopping carefully over to stand by her rider.

Rapunzel’s eyes fixed onto the castle. “So that’s where I’m from, huh?” she whispered, only loud enough for herself and Pascal to hear.

Or so she thought. Cassandra nodded once, folding her arms on the basket lip. “Yeah. Eighteen years ago… well, eighteen and a half years ago now, you were stolen as a baby.”

There was something off about the way she said that, but Rapunzel didn’t pry. She didn’t have the willpower at that moment. “...Seems I’m always being stolen,” she murmured.

“What do you mean?”

“As a baby, I was stolen from my parents. As a child, I was stolen from myself and shoved down into _her_ image of a perfect little girl. As an adult, I tried to leave and go with Eugene, and guess what happened?” She glanced over at Cassandra, a wry smile on her lips. “Stolen again.”

Cassandra swallowed, blinking a few times as she looked over Rapunzel’s face, then the horizon, then back to her. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault I’m weak.”

Her brows snapped down, gloved hand resting on Rapunzel’s shoulder. “You are not weak,” she said firmly. “You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.”

She huffed, clenching her fists and casting about for something to say. “What if I taught you to fight?”

“...What?”

“Eugene’s told me about your… um, your skills with a frying pan. But what about _proper_ training? Y’know, working out, learning the sword, building strength…”

She paused for a long moment. “You think I could really do it?”

“Yeah. Of course you could. Heck, with enough determination, I think you could do anything.” She smiled off to the side. “You’re just one of those types.”

Rapunzel’s eyes sparkled and she threw her arms around Cassandra. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyou!”

Cassandra tensed, but eventually put a single arm around Rapunzel to hug her close with a small smile. “Yeah. Consider it payback.”

“Payback for what?”

“...Things.” Cassandra backed away, biting her lip and averting her eyes. A moment passed before she took in a deep breath and returned her gaze back to Rapunzel's. “I’ve got something to tell everyone. Not now, but… soon. When I’m ready.”

She blinked, studying her friend. “I… okay. Yeah. You can tell us anything.”

“Thanks.” She turned to lean back against the basket lip, supporting herself on her elbows and letting her hands dangle. “Hey, Fitzherbert! How much longer?”

“Another ten minutes, Your Dragoness.”

“Hey. Watch it.”

“You watch it! No last names!”

Lance laughed over from where he was working the heater. “Oh, I dunno, Fitzherbert kinda suits you--”

“Shnitz, if you don’t shut up--”

“ _Eugene_!”

“Guys!” Rapunzel couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Guys. Calm down. We’re all about to be home.”

“The princess is right,” Edmund’s voice mused from over where he was staring out over the horizon. “It is a wonder why her friends do not listen more. Perhaps they just wish to invite chaos…”

“Letting your thoughts escape, Majesty.”

“Not this time, Adira.”

Cassandra shook her head, reaching to pet Fidella’s mane when she came over to stand by them. “I know I’m not a people person, but I can’t be alone in saying we all need a break.”

“I _am_ a people person and I think we need a break. I mean, we’ve been on the road for months together, everyone’s stressed out…”

“Yeah. At least we’ll be back home and finally have some peace.” She crossed her arms, looking back out over the kingdom-- and then frowned. “Hey. Is it just me, or does Corona look… kinda weird?”

Eugene appeared between them, squinting down at the city. “...Are those guards? In _silver_ armor?”

Rapunzel’s chest tightened. “Silver as in--”

“Equis, yeah. But why would Equis soldiers be in Corona?”

Cassandra clicked her tongue. “Saporians.”

“What?”

“My dad’s been sent out. No leadership to the guards. There’s been whispers of the Saporians allying with Equis in hopes of overturning Corona for years.” She nodded down at a cluster of guards. “King Trevor’s rich and logically a good ally, but too much of a wimp deep down to take the kingdom on by himself, not to mention he’s… well, he’s got a thing for your mom.”

Rapunzel looked sick. “So… what does this mean for us?”

“Means no landing here.”

Lance looked over. “ _What_!?”

Edmund frowned. “I agree with your large friend here. This is your kingdom and you would just leave it?”

“No, but we gotta find a place to hide out. Figure out what’s going on.” Cassandra glanced over to Eugene. “Me and you guys can take turns going in undercover.”  
Rapunzel turned on her. “What about me?”

“No offense, Raps, but you still haven’t recovered all the way. Your arms are noodles.” She smiled sideways. “We’ll fix that. But for now, yeah, we better hide. Anyone got any ideas?”

Adira hummed. “We could always take the old dam…”

Rapunzel and Eugene shared a look and he laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah, maybe not there. Pretty out in the open. How about…”

“Thieves’ hideout!” Lance snapped his fingers. “Red and Angry were gonna wait for us there.”

“Holy-- Lance, you’re right.” Eugene scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Okay. So. Change of plans, we’re gonna head over to the thieves’ hideout.”

Cassandra lifted a brow. “Gonna take a royal guard there?”

“I think this is enough of an emergency to warrant it.” He flashed her a smile before moving over to move the balloon again. “Besides. I guess if I’m dating the Crown Princess, my thieving days are beyond over.”

Pascal’s squeak drew Rapunzel’s attention. “What is it, buddy?”

He pointed down at the city, then her, cocking his head.

“...We’ll come back. Don’t worry. I haven’t given up on anything.” She pressed a kiss to her finger, then bopped him gently on the nose. “For now, we’re gonna trust in Cass and Eugene.”

Cassandra patted her shoulder, offering a small smile. “You can count on us, Raps.”

“I know.” Her smile was a little wobbly as her eyes flicked to the horizon, where she knew the Dark Kingdom lay miles and miles away. “I know I can.”

Everything would be fine.

  
  


_________

  
  


Vex frowned, turning her stick over a few times to inspect every angle, before tearing into the crow. Luckily, Adira had trained her well--she knew everything from how to catch a bird to how to pluck it to how to roast it just right over a campfire. Vex from a few years ago would’ve been curled up and crying, and here she was, a survivalist.

She’d have to thank Adira at some point. When she returned with Varian.

“I still can’t believe they all just left,” Vex mumbled, glancing up to Ruddiger. “I mean, sure, I’m not known to be the most loyal person ever, but-- doesn’t that just make it worse? That I’m determined enough to stay here and they aren’t?”

He squeaked, tilting his head to the side as he stuffed another apple slice into his mouth. One of the few she’d been able to forage from the trees just on their side of the canyon. 

Food was looking to be scarce. Shelter wasn’t a problem-- she had a full castle at her disposal if it started raining or something like that. But she didn’t _need_ a shelter, she needed to stay on the move. Varian wouldn’t be waiting around for her to explore at her leisure.

Actually, she didn’t know exactly where Varian was. It was as if he’d just poofed into a different plane of existence after taking the stupid moonstone like an idiot.

“I dunno, guys,” she mumbled, looking up at Stelle and Ruddiger. “This might just be a wild goose chase. Adira’s gonna pop up any minute now and ask if I’ve learned my lesson yet.”

Stelle nickered, bumping her shoulder with her nose. Vex chuckled and shoved her aside, but there was a small smile on her lips that wasn’t there before. “Yeah. I know. Keep up hope.”

Keep up hope. But… how could she? She didn’t know where he would’ve gone. Heck, he might’ve been _underground._ The rocks did take him, after all.

“We gotta keep looking in the morning,” she murmured, looking up at the setting sun. “Won’t be any good if we go through the night.”

Ruddiger nodded, finishing up his apple and yawning. He shuffled over to their campfire and curled up in a ball, while Stelle moved closer and dropped her head to sleep.

Vex curled up too, watching the flames through half-lidded eyes. _I could be in Corona by now with everyone else._

The image of Varian crying, holding onto that stupid blue stone, kept her from following that rabbit trail. Or sleeping. She kept tossing and turning for hours, waking up and going back to sleep only to wake back up again. The stars were too bright and the dying fire too warm, but no matter how she hid from them, she couldn’t push it all away. One thing or another would keep her awake.

_No rest for the weary._

Which, all in all, ended up being a good thing.

Right around four in the morning, Vex saw a flash of blue.

At first, she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not. But it was definitely there-- it popped up again and again, flashes of light-blue glow that would appear just over the craggy peaks of the black rock landscape. She jumped up, slinging Ruddiger up over her shoulder and waking Stelle by swinging into her saddle. Well-- more like stumbling up on the stirrups and nearly falling off, but still. “Ride!”

Stelle didn’t need to be told twice. She broke into a gallop, following Vex’s command and pounding away at the ground with her hooves. They covered ground fast, but not nearly fast enough; the fifth flash came and went, and nothing else after that.

“C’mon, Varian, _be there_ ,” she mumbled under her breath as they rushed around a curve and into a strangely smooth, circular crevice in the earth, surrounded by half-grown spikes.

But he wasn’t there.

She slid off Stelle, frowning hard and searching through the place. Moonlight reflected off the crystalline black rocks to create a misty sort of glow by itself, shimmering on her goggles. The ground was smooth enough to slide her gloved hand over without catching the fabric, as if someone had carved out a sphere and left the space empty.

Stelle’s urgent nicker got her attention. She looked up just in time to see a flash of bright blue, disappearing over the next crag.

They traded a glance, then Vex was scrambling up into her saddle, Ruddiger swung up onto her shoulder and squeaking in alarm. The ride was rough, every step jarring Vex’s ribs and neck. But she didn’t slow down, and Stelle probably wouldn’t have heeded even if she tried.

The sight of a slim figure slipping through the rocks renewed her hope. They’d found him.

_Why are you running, Varian?_

  
  


__________

  
  


“Run, Varian, run!” Luna shouted, clinging to his back like a frightened child. “She’s gaining on you!”

Panic seized Varian’s lungs, forcing more breath out than he could suck in. The rocks hummed around him, glowing against his skin and offering him their strength. He pulled on it, letting the cold, icy energy buzz through his veins and propel him forward. The canyon-- he had to get to the canyon. Had to get away. _Had_ to.

The clopping of Stelle’s hooves grew louder. She whinnied, and the sound pulled on his heartstrings, begging him to turn around and go back. That was Vex! Vex and Stelle and Ruddiger! Why was he running away?

Because they would take the stone and then everything would be messed up. He was saving them by running away.

His feet pounded at the ground as he shot towards the canyon, throat bobbing with nerves. “I’m not gonna be able to cross!”

“You can!” Luna screeched in his ear. “The rocks will serve you! You command them!”

“How are they going to help me across!?”

“You stupid boy, make a bridge!”

He flinched, gut twisting. She chose him for his intellect and wit and he was being stupid. That was an obvious answer. No wonder she was mad at him.

He pushed Vex’s dismayed shout from his mind, focusing on throwing up as many rocks as he could manage in her path. She couldn’t reach him. He couldn’t let her. If they got their way, everything would be ruined and Luna would have put her trust in him for nothing.

He ran out over the ledge, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping against hope.

His foot landed on solid stone.

He could’ve cried with relief, but there was no time. Varian shot over the growing stone bridge as fast as it would go, pushing his burning legs and lungs to keep working, keep dashing for the trees. The trees would offer safety and cover. He could hide there, figure out his next move in peace.

“The girl is coming!”

Varian risked a glance over his shoulder, eyes going wide. Vex was nearly upon him, goggles down against the wind and hands cupped around her mouth. She was shouting something, but Varian couldn’t make it out over the roaring in his ears. Just a little while longer. He shouldn’t be listening to her anyway. She would change his mind.

At the last second, he turned on his heel, throwing up both hands.

The cliffside rumbled under him as his stone bridge shrank back down to where it had started, leaving Vex stranded in the middle. Stelle neighed in surprise, backing away to keep from falling off into the chasm below.  
Vex reached out. “Varian!”

But he was already running away, heedless of the branches slapping him in the face and briars tangling around his ankles. He didn’t even feel them through the armor.

Varian kept running. And running. And running. He thought his body would’ve given out by now-- it should have in the first hour. Much before that, really. He’d never been much of an athlete. But the moonstone kept him going, ringing softly from its place on his chest and supplying him with waves of never-ending energy. His puny mortal body could never make a dent in all the power it held.

Finally, the sun began to creep up into the sky, dusting the horizon a faint cottony pink. Sunbeams fell on his skin, fizzling over his rock armor-- and all his strength evaporated in an instant. Varian collapsed by a creekbed, barely able to hear the soft burble of the stream over his own pounding heartbeat. Soft grass tickled at his cheek, but he only halfway felt it. His skin was burning and slick with sweat.  
“You did well, dear. Not perfectly, but, well. There is always more training to be done.” Luna hummed, floating around him like nothing was amiss. 

Varian only heard one thing. “I-- I did good?”

She grinned, sinking down to bop him on the nose and clasp her hands delightedly. “Very good, sweetheart. You did so good. You obeyed without a second thought and now we’re safe and sound.”

He nodded, letting his eyes fall closed. “What… what do we do from here? What’s the next step?”

“Oh, determined little wielder, are you?” She giggled into her gloved hand. “Well. The first step is for you to learn your powers. Eventually, we will meet back up with Rapunzel and show her the right way to do things. You can reunite the Sundrop and Moonstone together.”

“But… I thought…?”

“One person can hold one power, dear. But two at the same time? No. It would be catastrophic. We need her holding the Sundrop, you holding the Moonstone, and both of you saying the incantations together.”

“In… incantations?”

“Yes. And that will be the hardest part.” She hums, settling down on the grass and folding her hands on her poofy skirts. “There are four incantations. A basic one for each-- healing and destruction-- and then the incantations that will reveal the true might of your powers. The Sun does much more than heal. The moon-- I-- do much more than kill.”

He blew out a breath, hand floating to settle over the icy moonstone. Incantations… he remembered those, in a few fuzzy memories. Back when they were after Rapunzel and the witch, when she sang that creepy song and her hair had gone black… “Where are the incantations? How do we get to them?”

“Don’t you worry your head about that, my boy.” She stood, brushing off her skirt, and walked over to rub a hand over his forehead. “Just rest. Wait for tonight.”

“What’s tonight?” He could already feel sleep pulling at his mind.

“Well, training, of course. And I have to feed you eventually.”

“At night?”

“Of course, boy. You are the moon’s holder now. When the moon rises, you rise.” She gestured to the sunrise. “And when it rests, so do you.”

He didn’t need any more convincing. Varian closed his eyes.

Everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really liking feeling out Zhan Tiri for this. It's odd and she's going at it from a completely different angle, but I think I have everything sorted out.
> 
> Also, what does everyone think about how Corona's doing, huh? What do you expect to come of this?
> 
> Thanks for reading!! <3


	3. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meet a few people-- two they know and one they don't.
> 
> \----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter length, but I got this one out pretty quick, so I feel like it's justified. Plus, lots of updates on what's going on and setting lots of stuff in motion!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> \-----

They landed the balloon just over the hill from the hideout. 

Eugene helped Rapunzel out, wincing when his vision flickered. Being near danger had put his senses on high alert, and it seemed to be messing with his black magic eye, too-- when before it had only messed up every now and again or when he stupidly tried to poke it, now it was all too happy to go on the fritz. Which was not a good sign. Vision flickering out and going black in the middle of a fight did not sound fun in the least.

“Man, it’s been a while,” Lance laughed as he hopped out of the balloon, followed by Cassandra and the horses. Adira had swung over the side and Edmund was busy inspecting the balloon’s heater now that no one else was in his way. “Remember this, Eugene? Sliding down in here with armloads of loot?”

Maximus snorted, tossing his mane.

“Yeah, yeah, guard horse. You’re just angry you never found us.”

Eugene chuckled, shaking his head, and led Rapunzel down to the cliffside. “No one ever found us. It was the ultimate hideout for a reason.”

“The one thing thieves actually kept to themselves. Well, except now, of course.” Lance frowned. “Figure Red and Angry would be mad at us?”

“Nah. We’re coming to get them. And besides, they said they’d let their thieving days end when we came to take care of them instead.”

Still, he got Lance’s point. This was sacred among thieves. A secret everyone swore to keep hidden. And here Eugene was, leading the Crown Princess, the Captain of the Guard’s daughter, and two guard horses there, not to mention Adira, Edmund, and Fancy.

Times had changed.

He motioned for them to stop, taking the coil of rope they’d brought and tying it firmly to a hook carved in the stone by the cliffside. That done, he gripped the rope tightly, lowering himself down to gingerly ease over to the cave’s opening.

...Which had been… barricaded?

He lowered a brow. Why would the cave be barricaded? Wooden beams were way too obvious to outsiders and not strong enough to hold up to guards trying to get in. Stealth over defense was the thief way. Angry and Red surely knew that.

But… maybe they had a reason? At least it was proof that they were here.

Right? Or could it have been some other fool?

He fought with himself a moment before lowering down to the wooden door (why a door? Sure, it might’ve been locked, but  _ why a door?  _ Way too easy to get in! It was like screaming to the countryside that someone was staying in the cave!) and knocking twice.

“Eugene?” Lance called down. Rapunzel and Pascal stood right beside him, Cassandra surrounded by the horses just a little ways off.

He put a finger to his lips, returning his gaze to the door. No sound. But there was  _ definitely  _ light coming from between the beams and he could’ve sworn he heard a hushed voice before he knocked.

A minute passed before he knocked again-- and the door swung open just before he could get to his third.

Before he could see who’d opened the door, an iron club slammed into his head and everything went black.

  
  


_____

  
  


Quirin frowned, hands clasped behind his back as he stared down at the man in the cell.

He was a pitiful image, dressed in dirty rags and covered in grime. His beard had grown scraggly, hair unkempt and a bit oily. His head, once crowned and lifted up high, hung in shame.

“Frederic.” He stepped forward.

“Go away, Quirin.”

“I think not.” Something twisted in the depths of his chest, telling him something about this was wrong. But it had not been his decision-- it had been what Frederic earned himself for standing against the Saporians even when asked to stand down. He had led his people unwisely, made selfish and emotional decisions, and condemned the world to the mercy of the Moon.

Frederic lifted his hard blue eyes to meet Quirin’s, a heavy frown on his lips. “Would you not at least grant me peace? Have the traitors corrupted my old friend so much?”

“Why do you insist we were friends? I barely had made your acquaintance back when you sought the Sun Flower.”

He could see the arguments dying in Frederic’s mouth as the king slumped once more. “What is the purpose of your visit, pray tell?”

“Information.”

He didn’t stir.

Quirin barreled on. “Ever since you threw me out of the castle”-- there was always an objection here, a lie, but apparently now he was too tired-- “there have been gaps in my memory. I know this because I have a portrait in my home. One of me, Camilla, and our  _ son _ .”

“Yes, the boy. I remember him.”

Something jumped deep in Quirin’s gut. “Tell me. What was his name? Does he still live?”

“I’ve not the slightest idea if he is alive or not.” Frederic tapped his fingers, striped with tan lines from years of wearing bejeweled kingly rings, on the stone floor. “But his name. It was Varian. Varian Quirinsson.”

It struck him like an arrow to the heart. “My son is…”

All of the wanted posters, advertising a boy in goggles and coat. A single first name, all in big bold letters, always grabbing his attention. The smug smirk.

Frederic nodded once.

“But he-- the boy on the poster. He was always a teenager.” Quirin swallowed, tugging on the sleeve of his tunic. “How many years have passed since his birth?”

“Fifteen, now, I believe.”

_ Fifteen years. _

Fifteen years of growth, of change, of events taking place that he was absolutely oblivious to.

How much had happened in that fifteen years that didn’t concern his family?

And-- he realized this two seconds later-- it didn’t match up. If Varian was indeed his son, then how could he have been cast out of the castle when he was a baby and then woken up afterward when he was a teenager?

There was only one explanation, and it was one Quirin disliked very, very much.

He slowly settled down in front of Frederic, studying him with a small frown. “...Let’s talk, old friend.”

  
  


_____

“Eugene!” The others called out for her to wait, but Rapunzel was already going, grabbing onto the rope and swinging down to the entryway where he’d disappeared. She panted as she rushed in, armed with nothing but Pascal and her hair, fists balled and ready to defend her boyfriend.

Angry looked up with a sideways grin. “Hey, it’s the blonde.”

“Angry? Red?” She glanced between the two girls, who’d grown a bit taller since she last saw them. Instead of thief wear, soft and loose, they wore tunics and leggings, outfitted with a good pair of small boots and belts for their daggers. Angry’s hair had been done up in a ponytail while Red sported twintails.

She stared down at Eugene, who lay at their feet. “What… happened?”

“Idiot scared us! We thought he was a guard.” Angry kicked Eugene’s shoulder lightly. “He’ll wake up soon. But anyway. Where are the others?”

“Up-- up there.” She was still staring at Eugene. “Did one of you knock her out?”

A voice from behind made her freeze. “No, I did.”

She turned.

The woman behind her was relatively short, though taller than Rapunzel. A long brown braid trailed down her back, tied back tight as if in preparation to fight. She wore a tunic with a leather shoulder guard, a belt and sheath at the back for a sword, and linen breeches embroidered gold at the hems. Her boots looked exactly like the guards’, trimmed with gold-colored armor emblazoned with miniature Corona sun insignias. Pearl earrings glittered beside wide, roaming eyes.

Green eyes.

Eyes that looked exactly like Rapunzel’s, set in the same round face, under the same shaped brows, under the same part in their hair.

They stared at one another for a long, long moment before the woman’s hands floated to her mouth and she stepped back once. “Rapunzel.”

  
  


_____

  
  


Even if it hadn’t been for her river of golden hair, Arianna would’ve recognized her daughter. She was a younger version of herself, her teen years brought back to life in front of her. The moment their eyes met, she knew, in the depths of her heart, that this was her one and only daughter, come back to her once again.

It took Rapunzel longer, but by the time her friends were squeezing their way into the hideout, she’d gasped and realized. “....You’re...my...?”

The chameleon on her shoulder’s jaw dropped.

Arianna ran for her daughter, engulfing her in a hug, running her hand through her long golden hair and shaking with swallowed tears. “I knew you would come back to me.”

She didn’t hug back, too surprised to move. Not that Arianna could blame her. She had all the right in the world to be cautious or disbelieving. 

Of course, that was thrown out the window when Cassandra gasped in the doorway, dropping immediately to one knee. “Your Majesty.”

Arianna pulled back, clearing her throat and holding her head up high. “Please, stand. I wear no crown.”

Cassandra looked up at her, then slowly, uncertainly, stood. “You will always be my queen.”

“The thought is appreciated, as is your loyalty. But right now, I am no one’s queen.” She looked around, sharp green eyes looking over them all. “You are the ones who took Rapunzel?”

“They didn’t take me,” Rapunzel said softly, hesitating before laying a hand on her arm. The chameleon on her shoulder disappeared into her hair, peeking out with wide eyes. “Eugene saved me from the tower. And then they all saved me again when-- when the witch came back. After that, I chose to go with them.”

Arianna swallowed. “Why?”

“They’re my friends.” She moved over to Flynn Rider-- she’d called him Eugene?-- and brushed the hair from his face with a soft smile. “And I-- my hair. It’s special.”

“More than just  _ special _ .” A flat, deep-ish voice said from the doorway. A mountain of a woman brushed herself off, white hair falling in her face from the climb. “Majesty. Your daughter is the Sundrop. She has a destiny far beyond what you could imagine.”

Arianna was about to reply when Angry and Red shouted excitedly, running across the hideout to latch onto a large bald man in the doorway. He laughed and scooped them up into a hug. “Hi, girls!”

“You’re late!” Angry punched him several times with her tiny fists before hugging him again.

He winced. “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry. Got caught up in a lot of stuff.”

Red nodded, looking around before speaking again in her tiny, soft voice. “Where’s Varian?”

The group went silent.

Another man squeezed in behind them before anyone could speak. Tall like the others, pale, with long chestnut hair and mustache, he held himself high like a king.

Which may be true, Arianna realized, when she saw the black crown on his brow.

“What a lovely little place,” he said thoughtfully, looking around. “A little dank, and kind of small, but homely. No wonder Eugene fell asleep.”

Adira cleared her throat. “Majesty. Meet Queen Arianna of Corona and… her little friends.”

The dark king’s brown eyes turned to Arianna, and he smiled, dropping into a shallow, polite bow. “Queen Arianna! It is my honor. How humbling it is to be welcomed into a foreign kingdom.”

“Some kingdom it is now,” she murmured, but shook her head, doing a curtsy despite her lack of skirts. “In any case, it is indeed an honor to make your acquaintance.”

Adira glanced around. “So… what is this? This can’t be your only base.”

“Oh, no, it isn’t. I’m only visiting Red and Angry.” Arianna cleared her throat. “I’ve been looking after them personally.”

“She saved our butts,” Angry proclaimed, now sitting on Lance’s shoulder. “When the Equis-Saporian forces came through and attacked the castle. She ran down and set us free, then we all escaped together.”

“Mostly because I knew they didn’t belong in the dungeons, but… also, because I needed help.” Arianna laughed sheepishly, brushing her hair from her face. “I’m still learning to sneak around. And they know people. People who can help us take the kingdom back.”

“Majesty, if I may.” Cassandra raised a hand to her chest in a salute. “I would be honored to be the one to lead the forces into Corona. If we can take down King Trevor and the leader of the Saporians--”

“Andrew,” she supplied, shaking her head. “It’s too dangerous. They’re too powerful together, and they possess magic.”

“So do we.” Rapunzel stood from Eugene’s side, balling her fists. “I didn’t come back here just to hide. We’re taking them down.”

“Agreed,” Cassandra nodded. “We can pull this off, all of us.”

“Especially if we have the scroll,” Adira spoke up. “We need the one last piece hidden in Old Corona. After that, we need only translate the incantations, and then Rapunzel will be unstoppable.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Cassandra grinned sideways, looking to Arianna. “Up for a trek to Old Corona, Majesty?”

  
  


_____

  
  
  


Varian was  _ exhausted. _

Luna never let him stop, and the rocks meant he never had to. But he could feel the life draining from him with every swing he took, every new spike he summoned from the earth. Travel had been all too easy with magic rocks that could bust through anything or take him wherever he wanted, but sleep was calling his name. He’d barely gotten five hours before Luna had awoken him earlier.

_ You cannot stop! We’re on a timer, child! _

Ever since he told her about the last piece of the scroll that Adira said his dad had, she insisted he could rest later. Always later. Never when his lungs burned or his fingers trembled.

But she had a point. He  _ had  _ to get to his old home. Talk to his dad. His dad had to understand! He could talk to him and figure everything out.

He had to get to Old Corona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So tell me, who all saw that coming? :3


	4. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Co., now including Angry, Red, and Queen Arianna, make their way to Old Corona. Meanwhile, Quirin is growing uneasy.
> 
> ______

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to the tune of Do You Wanna Build A Snowman*
> 
> Do you wanna read a chapterrrrr
> 
> Too bad the author's laaaaatttteeeee
> 
> How anyone's here anymore
> 
> I don't really know
> 
> But thank you anywayyyyyYYY!
> 
> xD Well I technically still got one in this month, even if I waited until the 29th to do it. Motivation's been crummy and I finally got my novel sent off to the editor, plus college stuff, and then oH WAIT SHOOT THE TANGLED STORY and yeah. My bad guyssss
> 
> Hope you enjoy this, anyway! <3
> 
> \-----------

Travel wasn’t easy. Rapunzel stuck close to Eugene for most of the trek, an uncomfortable silence between her and Queen Arianna. More than once one of them had made an attempt to speak to the other, but it was unbelievably awkward. What did one speak  _ of,  _ after so many years apart? Knowing each other by heart and yet knowing absolutely  _ nothing? _

Eugene’s arm slid around her shoulders, Pascal’s tail loosely around her neck. She leaned her head on his chest and stared ahead, willing her feet to move just one more step. They’d been trying to stay off the horses, since there weren’t enough for all of them and they needed their strength too, but if it went on any longer, she’d have to ask to ride on Maximus. Her feet throbbed and her legs shook a little more with every step.

She could’ve cried when Adira came to a stop, not even bothering to announce her plans before she plopped down in the field and started pulling random things from her coat. Eugene stopped right away, but the others went on a minute before realizing what had happened and doubling back.

Arianna frowned, sitting down primly. “What’s going on?”

“We’re resting, Majesty.” Adira pulled out a few brown paper bags, each filled with two pieces of jerky and dried apples, to pass around. “We’ll have to camp and continue in the morning. Earrings, Short Hair, get on finding wood.”

Arianna watched Lance and Cassandra go, a brow puckering. “We’re camping out in the open?”

“I’ll keep watch, Majesty. There’s no need to worry.” Adira cast a sideways smile her way. “Out here, there’s little chance of getting jumped. I can see people coming for miles.”

“...If you say so,” she murmured, adjusting her sleeve and looking around. “Are you sure Cassandra and Lance will be--”

“With  _ all  _ due respect, Majesty,” Adira huffed, not sounding like there was much respect due at all, “I trust Earrings and Short-Hair to do their jobs. They have been through much.”

Rapunzel found herself nodding. “Cass and Lance will be fine,” she said quietly. “I trust them. They’re able.”

“Lance was my partner in crime.” Eugene waved a hand. “And Cass is the Captain of the Guard’s daughter and probably half-dragon or something. We’re all good, Majesty.”

Arianna sighed and nodded. “I see my worries aren’t shared. Very well.”

Angry stuck out her tongue, laying with Red in the grass. “Nobody shares your worries. You got too many of ‘em.”

“Be nice,” Red whispered, giving her a flat look when she got a finger in return.

Cassandra’s laugh came from behind them as she walked into camp with an armload of thick branches. “You two are great.”

“That was fast, dragon lady.” Eugene grinned sideways, rubbing Rapunzel’s back. “Burn down the tree or something?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hilarious, Eugene. No. We found a downed tree not far from here.” Lance came in just after that with another armload, proving her point. “Adira, you wanna light us up?”

The woman nodded, pulling out a few pieces of flint. Rapunzel found herself wondering, not for the first time, exactly how much she carried around in that giant coat. Soon they had a small but warm fire crackling between them all, smoke and sparks flying up to the darkening sky above.

Arianna frowned. “Won’t someone see the smoke?”

“They may. But, again, we’ll see them coming.” Edmund grinned. “It would be good for us if they did. Dispatch a few guards, get a head start. It is a great and notable tactic in war to use your enemy’s expectations against you! As the great Sun Tzu said…”

Arianna paled and didn’t speak against it again, focusing on her rations. Rapunzel tuned out as well, staring at the queen.

Thoughts and emotions formed a tense, tight knot in her stomach. The idea of having a  _ mother  _ at all sent her into mild tremors, shaking and wanting to hide behind Eugene. She was sure this woman-- this queen, a beloved queen of a beloved kingdom-- was in no way like Gothel, but the fear was there anyway. Every time she caught those eyes looking at her, she quailed, looking for a place to hide.

_ She’s not her. _

But it was so, so familiar.

Eugene’s slow hand going up and down her back, rubbing her worries away, finally lulled Rapunzel to sleep.

_____

  
  


Vex grumbled to herself, cutting through a thick, tangled bush with a shotel. “Ruddiger, I  _ swear  _ on Stelle’s life that if Varian isn’t within the next hundred meters, I will give up.”

Stelle nickered, pushing her with a hoof. She rolled her eyes and shoved her back, though her thin arms couldn’t do much against the horse’s weight. “Shut up. You too, Ruddiger.” Vex jabbed a finger in his direction.

Ruddiger put both paws on his hips and chattered at her.

“I knew you were about to.” She looked back to the ground, following Varian’s footprints. They were a weird shape, not quite a bootprint but not a footprint either. Molded to his foot and smooth, but no distinguishable pattern.

_ Just as weird as the kid himself. _

She sighed, looking away to just follow the trail he’d worn through the woods. Varian, for all his intelligence, had proven to not be very skilled at covering up his tracks. At all. It was like he didn’t even try. There were the literal tracks, then the broken limbs, and-- most of all-- the trail of sharp black spikes shoved up through the earth to clear his path.

Where that path was leading, Vex didn’t know. They’d been going for  _ miles  _ already, only stopping to forage or hunt. Last night they’d slept in three-hour shifts, drying whatever food they had left to preserve it for the next few days. Did Varian never get tired? Never collapse from all the running he was doing?

The tracks kept getting older and older. Less fresh, already somewhat blending back into the earth. He wasn’t just maintaining his distance-- he was building it. Getting further away from her.  _ How,  _ Vex had no idea. The kid wasn’t an athlete by nature; anyone could tell that just by looking at him. She  _ should  _ be right on his tail, and yet here she was, plodding through thick forest with not a single breath of humanity to be felt.

This was all so stupid.

She sighed as she came out of the woods, dropping onto a log. The tracks had disappeared into thick forest moss, leaving her in a clearing without any direction. What was she supposed to do now?

Not turn back, that was for sure.

Stelle nickered, bumping her with her big nose, moist from dew and mist. Ruddiger climbed up to perch between the horse’s ears and pat Vex’s head, chittering.

“Looks like you live after all, Stelle.” She reached up to pat her spotted neck. “I’m not giving up.”

Not until she knew where her friend went. Not until she saw that stupid face again and called him  _ short stack _ and told him he was a lame nerd and--

And asked why he abandoned all of them.

Vex pushed herself up, setting her jaw. Halfway between Pincosta and Vardaros.

She still had a long way to go.

  
  


______

Quirin kept his face smooth as he sat down to dinner. Andrew was talking about something, but he couldn’t make it out over the clamoring in his own mind.

He didn’t know who to trust. The Saporians-- Clementine, Kai, Maisie, Juniper… all of them were bright, energetic people, constantly talking and playing jokes on one another. Like  _ good people.  _ And what had King Frederic ever done? Gone against his warning and doomed both their kingdoms as a result.

But he knew Frederic better than he did the Saporians. And he knew how to spot a lie in the king’s eyes.

There hadn’t been one.

As calm as he had been during their long conversation, it had left him thoroughly ruffled. The idea that he might be being misled was not a good one.  _ Especially  _ when it included his son.

His son who was a  _ teenager  _ now. A teenage criminal, even.

But who could blame the boy? He had no mother and Quirin had always worried about his own capability as a father. Camilla could tell him all she liked that he would make a wonderful dad, but he always knew the truth. Quirin was too cold-- too distant-- to raise children. Being an appointed knight, a member of the Dark Kingdom Brotherhood, made him good for one thing and one thing only: fighting to protect his liege.

He couldn’t even remember how he’d raised his son. Had no clue as to how he’d messed it up.

“‘Ey, Quirin.” Clementine nudged him with a tiny elbow. “You gonna draw straws?”

“Hm?” He shook himself, looking over to where each of the Saporians had a hand on a straw. “No, no thank you, Clementine.”

She frowned, hopping up on the table to be able to reach hers. It came out shortest and she rolled her eyes, tossing it away and flashing a rude sign at the winner. “You never do any of the fun stuff.”

He quirked the corner of his lips. “Pardon me for being boring.”

“You’re pardoned.” she tapped her short, thick fingers on the tabletop, studying him. “There’s something wrong with you lately.”

“I’ll say.” Juniper tossed her long black ponytail, cursing when a bead flew loose to bounce across the palace floor. “You look like Trevor when someone mentions how Queen Arianna got away.”

He flinched. That had… been another point. He hadn’t felt right at all keeping her here-- even been relieved when she escaped. The Saporians might’ve had a chance of being good, but King Trevor was another story.

Not to mention the Dark Kingdom had never quite gotten along with Equis, either.

“I’m simply not feeling well.”

“Well, we can get a doc to work on you if that’s the case. PLenty of those guys all fighting over the medical equipment.”

“Two groups of people trying to share a space doesn’t always work,” Andrew chuckled, brushing his long hair over a shoulder. “Like sharing mirrors? Impossible. As are winner’s podiums.”

“We get it, Narcissus, you won three times in a row. Stick your straw back in there,” Kai huffed, putting his own straw back into the cup and reaching to shake it around.

Before the new round could start, they were interrupted by the door swinging open. Trevor waltzed in with two guards flanking him on either side, blond beard glistening with oil and bright white sleeves freshly ironed. “I have come to bestow upon all of you the awareness that the rebel Queen of Corona has been spotted near the plains between the southeastern forests and Old Corona village.”

“Great, lovebird’s back,” Juniper muttered under her breath, glaring at Trevor. “What do you want us to do about it?”

“Well, I thought we had a deal. I run the kingdom and offer defense, you people do the dangerous specialized missions. As Saporians do.”

Kai gasped, large hand splayed out over his chest. “Are you generalizing the great people of Sap--”

“Shut your trap, Kai,” Clementine waved her wand, sealing Kai’s lips shut, and ignored the following muffled protests. “What do you want us to do?”

“Well, go capture her, of course!”  
“Why didn’t your men do it when they saw her?”

Trevor faltered. “...She was with a very large scary soldier.”

“Ahuh.” Clementine sighed, glancing over to Andrew. “What do you wanna do, fearless leader?”  
“I think we should.” Andrew stood, cracking his knuckles. “We can assume they’re planning to stay in Old Corona for a while. Who knows, it might be their base.”

“You think the Queen has gotten enough sympathy?”

“I know it. The people have their little riots nearly every day now. Nobody’s happy with our occupation of Corona.” He reached for a hair tie to put his bun back up. “I would be surprised if the rebel queen  _ didn’t  _ have a faction of loyal folks. Especially in Old Corona.”

Quirin frowned. Why? Why was Old Corona special? He had come from there; the Saporians had started their work from his home there. Why would they have asked to stay somewhere likely to be against them?

Unless they’d just been trying to lay low, wait for an opportunity. But Andrew had always said they would settle affairs peacefully if it were possible. Someone like that wouldn’t hide and strike from the shadows.

A hand shook him out of his own thoughts. “Quirin.” Clementine snapped her fingers to attract his gaze. “You awake?”  
He shook himself. “I am.”

“Good. We’re gonna need ya.”

“Why?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Sometimes I swear you’re blind and deaf. We’re heading to Old Corona and you’re leading the party.”

Andrew’s brows furrowed. “Now, we never decided that--”

“He knows more about Old Corona than any of us do. He’s the best leader this time.” Juniper snickered, elbowing Andrew. “Suck it up, Narcissus.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that!”

“I’ll call you what I want, Manbun McGee.”

“I’ll have you know I am considered to have the perfect face shape for--”

“Loudmouth!”

“Would you show some respect for your--”

“Stupid head!”  
“Oh, that’s just _real_ mature--”

Clementine sighed, shaking her head and reaching to tug on Quirin’s sleeve. They got up and headed out, listening to Andrew get more and more worked up as Juniper continued to cackle.

Sometimes he wondered about the Saporians.

  
  


______

  
  


Varian’s chest caved and rose again over and over with each breath, air stinging the back of his raw throat. “How--close--are we?” he panted out, fighting the urge to collapse by a tree.

“Very, very close, dear boy. Keep it up.” Luna flickered through the trees. “The girl is hot on our tails.”

“Vex?”

“Yes, the little Dark Knight in training.”

He ducked under a fallen tree trunk, trying to ignore the pounding in his feet that got worse with every step. “Why can’t I talk to her? Surely she’d understand.”

“No. Nobody understands, remember?”

“Right.” He swallowed, wincing when it stung on the way down. “Can we stop for water?”

“Not yet, not yet! You have to keep going. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Varian was certain his legs were turning to heavy lead, his brain to mush, lungs to air-dried shells. He thought, especially over the next two hours, that he’d just collapse and die on the spot. But all of it paid off.

Because eventually, as he crested a hill, Old Corona unfolded on the horizon.


	5. Twisted Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and company arrive in Old Corona to seek out the last piece of the Demanitus Scroll and unlock Rapunzel's powers. However, Varian's overdue for a visit home, and he's been listening to Luna.
> 
> \-------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO this one took some time but hey! My monthly chapter! I did it *weak applause and reminders of how my update schedule used to be*
> 
> But yeah this one is highly Varian-centric and setting up for stuff to go down pretty fast from here. I hope you guys like how I handled it :>
> 
> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> \-----

Rapunzel screamed, tears running down her cheeks as blue electricity tore over her skin. Blood pooled under her feet, muscle bared to air and nerves sagging away from flesh.

“Punzie!” Varian’s throat was raw from screaming. Weakness shook his body, pain emanating from the empty space on his chest where the Moonstone had been. “Please, please, no, I don’t want this, _please…_ ”

Reality melted away, leaving him in a quiet meadow littered with bug-eaten, overgrown plants. His dad’s old farm. Luna patted his head, heaving a sigh. “I know this is difficult, dear, but I have to show you what happens if you fail. This is the world we’re talking about.”

“I won’t— I won’t fail,” he whispered, glowing blue tears dripping to the earth. A pumpkin next to him rotted. It was just a plant, but the guilt shook him, made him curl in on himself. “Just stop it, please.”

“You know I can’t do that. As much as I care about you, it is essential that we both look past feelings at the good of the universe.” She waved her hand and colors warped around him again. More screams to make Varian claw at his ears. More pain and weakness shooting through his veins. More blood soaking through the cracks in his armor… 

Sobs racked his body as he rocked back and forth, hands buried in his hair and knees pulled to his chest. “Luna, I _swear,_ I won’t give up. I’ll stick to it.”

“Even when they try to convince you you’re wrong?” Luna ran a hand through his bangs, then reached to cup his face in both tiny, gloved hands. 

“Ev—” he hiccuped. “Even then, yeah. I, I promise.”

She kissed his forehead. “All right. I’m going to trust you with this, okay? Don’t let me down unless you want to see all of that really come to pass.”

Varian couldn’t make his voice work, so he simply nodded. He couldn’t fail. Couldn’t afford to listen to anyone. They didn’t know. Eugene, Rapunzel, Cassandra, Lance, Adira… Vex… none of them knew what he did. They didn’t understand. Didn’t see the blood and the gore and the destruction spanning over the entire world…

“Dawn approaches.” Luna’s eyes gleamed. “It’s time to go.”

He hadn’t gotten any sleep, but he pushed himself up anyway. Every step into his dad’s old house was trudging, heavy, reluctant. He didn’t want to go back in there. Back to his past. Back to who he used to be.

But he had to.

For Punzie.

_______

  
  


“...Raps?” Cassandra rubbed her arm as they stepped out of the gorge into Old Corona. The village was quaint as ever in the light of sunrise, little cottages outlined by bright pale sunlight. A lake glittered on the horizon, likely jumping with fish.

“Yeah?” Rapunzel’s voice was quiet, green eyes tracking over from Queen Arianna.

“Stay behind me, all right? I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Really bad.”

“Behind both of us,” Eugene murmured, scanning over the scene as they made their way to Varian and Quirin’s old house. Adira led the solemn charge, one hand on the hilt of her sword as she reached to pull the door open.

Silence greeted them. Dust shimmered in the air, dancing in sunbeams streaming in from a window over the sink. A broken chair lay in the corner near a hammer and a bunch of loose nails, leaning against a wood heater smeared with ash around the entrance.

Adira relaxed. “Check the whole house. The scroll piece has to be in here.”

The group spread out. Rapunzel kept close to Eugene, biting her lip as she went through shelves and cabinets full of pots, pans, and silverware in the kitchen. Nothing out of the ordinary, besides a rat that Eugene had to drag her away from before she could try to make friends with it.

They looked for what must’ve been at least an hour before Cassandra waddled in from Quirin’s master bedroom, dropping a wooden chest with a grunt and a heavy _clank._ “Look what I found,” she huffed, wiping sweat off her forehead with the back of her glove. Rapunzel frowned, watching her cradle her right hand.

“Holy moley, how much did that weigh?” Lance jogged over to inspect it, followed by Angry at his side asking about treasure and Red on his shoulders.

“I’d believe it if it was several hundred pounds.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes, a tiny smile on her lips. “Hyperbole, much, Eugene?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate my dragon lady sister.” 

He grinned sideways, and it only widened when she shook her head and reached to flip the lid open. “Armor. Armor, and something I thought you guys might find interesting.” She reached her good hand in to drag out a tattered roll of paper covered in images and script.

“His Dark Knight armor and the last scroll piece,” Adira put in most helpfully, walking over to pluck it from Cassandra’s hands. After a moment of inspection, she reached into her giant coat to pull out the rest. Lance got the message, heading over to clear away the clutter of old dishes and random farm equipment off the dining table with the girls’ help.

Adira lay out the scroll piece by piece, meticulously looking over and adjusting each scrap. When she stepped back, light flowed from the edges, garnering a round of awed gasps and exclamations as it fused back together right before their eyes.

“There it is.” Adira’s eyes roamed over a tower covered in black rocks, symbols of the moon and sun, a silhouette of a hooded man’s face. “The Demanitus Scroll in its entirety.”

An earthquake struck the house.

Black spikes shot up through the floor, scattering stone and wood chips everywhere and filling the air with dust. Rapunzel shouted, clinging to Eugene as golden light raced down her hair and a metallic song whirled around her with every touch of the rocks. Adira swung her sword out, grabbing the scroll to stuff it into her coat and look around with narrowed eyes. Cassandra and Lance stood back-to-back, Angry and Red between them.

When the dust settled and the rocks stopped coming, Rapunzel finally managed to relax.

Until a headcount made her pause. “Guys...where’s the King and Queen?”

“Right here.”

Cassandra whirled around, pointing her sword, but it fell quickly. Adira stood still, glaring at the doorway to the staircase—or, rather, the boy in it.

“Varian,” Rapunzel whispered, swallowing as her fingers curled in Eugene’s vest.

“Punzie…” Something changed in his face--his pale, thin face--and he looked away from her, shaking himself. “I have the Queen of Corona and King of the Dark Kingdom here,” he called out, voice shaky. “And if you want them back, you’ll give me the Demanitus Scroll.”

Adira shot forward, black sword cleaving for his midsection.

Varian’s shout cut straight to Rapunzel’s bones as he threw his arms up over his face to guard. A sphere of black rock pushed up into being around him, standing just long enough to block the blow before exploding outward with enough force to send Adira flying.

Cassandra stepped forward. “Varian. Varian, please, listen, kid—”

“She was gonna kill me,” he breathed, every inch of him shaking. His voice grew louder, higher in pitch, as his glowing blue eyes widened even further in the center of dark circles. “ _She was gonna kill me_!” 

“You’re a danger to the entire world.,” Adira huffed out, hand over her midsection as she glared at him. “I don’t wanna hurt you, kid—”

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Blue light raced through every rock in the house, making Rapunzel’s hair float up weakly around her and electricity crackling along Cassandra and Adira’s blades. But for every angry rush of power, there came another tear. “I’m not just a kid! I—I’m trying to help, I’m not a danger to the world! I’m trying to protect Punzie, please, you _have_ to listen—”

“You think this is protecting her!?” Eugene stepped up in front of Rapunzel, holding his arms out as a shield. “You really think all of this is doing any good—”

“I have your father!” Varian stared at him, teeth chattering and eyes widened like a scared animal’s. Eugene’s eyes widened and he glanced at Edmund, who wouldn’t look at him. “I have your father, and, and Rapunzel’s mother, and I—I won’t hur—” he hesitated, swallowed thickly, and started again. “I’ll, I’ll hurt them, I swear I will, if you don’t give me that scroll.”

Rapunzel took in a deep breath and pushed forward, tucking Pascal behind her hair on her back. “Varian,” she whispered, “Please. This isn’t the way. We can work together.”

“No, no, you don’t understand, nobody understands—”

“Then _help us understand_ ,” she pleaded, reaching out. 

“No!” He buried both hands in his hair, another wave of blue energy shooting out and knocking them all back. Arianna cried out and Edmund grunted as they were slammed against the stairs. Varian spun, holding a hand out at Arianna and shaking as more spikes grew out, pointed at her.  
“Majesty!” Cassandra cried out, but she couldn’t move. Not without provoking him.

“I don’t wanna hurt anyone, Cassie,” he panted out, sweat dripping from his chin. “But I will. I will if you don’t hand over the scroll right now.”

“...What are you gonna do with it?”

“Short-Hair, do _not_ bargain with the kid.” Adira reached to button up her jacket. “He’s not getting the scroll.”

“I will. I can and I will.” Varian shivered violently before the moonstone burst with blue light and he screamed a blood-curdling scream, sending waves of thick, blunted rock to knock everyone else back and shoot up around Adira. She swung at the rocks with her sword, cutting through a few, and Varian reached a hand out to call the sword right out of her hands and into his.

For a second, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to lift it. But a wave of magic later, he hefted the blade in both hands, glaring at Adira. “I don’t wanna hurt you. But you’re hurting everyone else by keeping that scroll.”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

“You don’t know anything.” Varian reached back to press the sword to his back, and Rapunzel’s eyes widened as she watched his armor mold around the blade like a sheath to keep it there. That done, he stalked forward, holding out a hand and fisting it. 

Lance ran forward as Adira cried out, only to be knocked back and nearly bowled into Angry and Red. “Kid! Kid, please, stop!”

“ _I said stop calling me that!”_ He screamed, forcing Rapunzel to yelp and throw herself against Eugene when the house rumbled and rocks tore through the floor, the walls, even the ceiling. Golden light pulsed down her hair as it came alive, snaking out to grab hold of everyone through the rubble and pull them in close before winding around them all in a protective bubble. Pascal chirruped and jumped around on her shoulder, seemingly talking back to the frenzied whinnies of the horses they’d left outside.

Finally, the earthquake stopped. Rapunzel’s hair dropped over them, giving way for Maximus to plow through the crowd and snuff over both her and Eugene. Fancy met up with Red, Angry, and Lance, while Owl flew straight to Cassandra’s shoulder.

Rapunzel shook violently even as she struggled to her feet. The house was… wrecked. Knocked to rubble. Black rocks formed a tunnel around them, several spikes broken off at the tips as if they’d tried to penetrate her protective bubble.

But they were safe. She’d protected everyone.

This time.

______

  
  


“...He tried to kill us.” It came from the last source anyone expected: a worn, bruised Queen Arianna. She stood, brushing off her torn skirts and matted hair. “After I defended him to Freddy.”

The words stung. More than they should have. Sent little unpleasant prickles through Varian’s chest. His hand tightened around the scroll until it shook.

“No, Ari— _mom_ ,” Rapunzel ground out, “That’s not him. That’s not Varian. Something’s happening, something’s bothering him—”

“And that gives him an excuse to attempt murder with his fancy glowy rocks?” Angry demanded, both hands on her narrow hips. 

“Forget attempted murder,” Adira groaned, sitting up slowly with a hand to her head. “He clocked me good. The _kid._ Made _me_ black out.”

“Adira.” The Dark King dropped to her side, inspecting her face despite Lance’s annoyed look at the back of his head. “You’re hurt.”  
“And you still haven’t broken your habit of stating the obvious,” she grumbled, standing without his help and brushing off her coat. “He nabbed the scroll. I don’t know what he’s gonna do with it.”

Cold fingers brushed against his cheek, dragging Varian’s eyes away from the conversation below his perch in his dad’s favorite apple tree. Luna was smiling, giving a little giggle behind a lace-gloved hand. “They have no idea. Now that you have the scroll, we can begin our planning.”

“What planning?” They were talking about their next move now; he could still vaguely make it out.

“For getting my magic and the Sun’s magic out of both of you. Getting all this mess behind us.” She hummed, fluttering around him and waving her little slippered feet in delight. “You destroyed your home today. That was a big step, sweetie. But now we’re going to take it a little further. Rebuild in your old life’s honor. A fortress we can use as a base for our scheme.”

“...Fortress…” her words went in one ear and out the other. Adira was talking, looking around with both hands on her hips. He couldn’t get his brain to process anything he heard between them and Luna, but he could read her lips. _Where’s Vex?_

Where _was_ Vex?

“Varian?” Luna tapped the side of his head.

“Sorry.” He backed away, shaking his head to clear it. “Tell me what to do next.”

____

Vex coughed up blood, scrambling over the grass towards a metal glint. So close. _Close. Closecloseclosecloseclose keep going you’re so close._ She could feel grass through the holes in her gloves with every inch forward, body shaking just from the effort of reaching out a hand to grab the hilt of one of her shotels. Ruddiger squeaked out a warning from her shoulders just in time for her to spring up and block a sword—but the strength was too much. Vex cried out as she fell backward, the blade of her second shotel slicing up the soft underside of her forearm and drawing tears to her eyes.

The weapon dropped from her hand as Hector’s fingers hooked in the collar of her coat, dragging her up to hang midair face-to-face with him. Cold, electric yellow eyes seared into her, empty manic grin making her shudder. “You thought you could get away.”

Vex grunted as she aimed a kick directly between his legs. He dropped her with a howl, letting her crawl away to the relative safety of the thick forest undergrowth. Ruddiger clung to her like a lifeline and she could hear Stelle neighing and screaming at the bearcat creatures Hector brought with him.

She had to get away. Stelle could fend for herself—once Hector gave chase, he’d call his pets with him and she’d be fine. Vex was the one to worry about.

How had everything gone so wrong? One moment she was on Varian’s tail, and then another…

Air cut off as Hector grabbed her by the back of her coat this time, growling as he held his blade to her throat. “You’ll go quietly, little girl, or it ends right here. And I don’t think either of us want that.”

  
She swallowed thickly, painfully. So very hyperaware of the sword pressed against her throat. “...You seem like you want that,” she whispered, watching how pale sunlight bounced off his blade.

“You don’t know me.” He stepped back into the clearing, blocking with a knee when she kicked back again. “You’ll need somewhere to hold you. Something to keep you from running off.”

Ruddiger squeaked in dismay when the two bearcats chased Stelle up to them, her nostrils flared and foam bubbling along her mouth. Stelle nipped at him, earning a smack across the face, as Hector loaded Vex up on her back with a healthy roll of rope. “Vardaros isn’t far from here. And if I’m not mistaken, you’re both from that dump.”  
Fear struck Vex’s heart. She was… she was going back to Vardaros. Where the Baron was. 

She’d be dead in a week!

“Anywhere but that. You won’t like the competition you find,” she warned.

“I’ve found there’s little competition there.” Hector grinned again, reaching to yank Stelle’s reins and make her follow. “The Baron and I get along fine, actually.”

“Of course you do. Both slime buckets.”

He chuckled. “That spunk of yours won’t be around long.”

She stayed quiet, if only to avoid getting hit. But he was wrong. A life of scrounging and scraping by had done nothing but make her stronger, hone her edges into sharp points. Vex was used to pain and hard times.

Hector didn’t know what was coming for him.


	6. Rebuilding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone recovers in the wake of Varian's outburst. Meanwhile, Vex is in for some big trouble, and Quirin is finally seeing through a little of the fog.
> 
> _____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know I missed my monthly chapter.... I'm sorry D: 
> 
> Tbh I wish I had the motivation to work on this more. I got a bad case of the "oh noes we're nearing the end how do I tie up loose ends aaaaaaaaa" and then yknow, Stuff Happened. I wrote another 62k steampunk-fantasy novel because what is life and focus
> 
> But anyway, I'll not be abandoning this. It will be finished. Just like, very slowly. In smol bite size pieces
> 
> Now that I'm done making you roll your eyes with my excuses, please do enjoy!
> 
> ________

“No. You’re holding it  _ all  _ wrong. You’ll end up— ugh, Raps, look.” Cassandra stepped forward, reaching to straighten her grip on the sword. “You’ll end up stabbing yourself if you keep holding it like that.”

Rapunzel bit her lip, adjusting her grip on the handle. Cassandra’s sword was  _ way  _ too heavy in her hands, like trying to swing an anvil on a stick. How she managed to fight with this thing— _ one-handed,  _ no less—would forever escape her. “Do I have to learn how to fight with a sword? I just… I don’t think it’s my style…”

“It’s what I can teach you and it’s what your opponents will have.”

Shouldn’t she… have something unexpected, then? Wouldn’t that make more sense? But she didn’t voice her questions, breathing in a deep sigh and trying a sweeping cut at the scarecrow like Cassandra had shown her.

The tip of the sword barely clipped his worn-out overalls before the weight became too much and she stumbled forward, falling with a yelp. The blade sliced into her arm, drawing a thin line of blood.

“Holy—what’s going on out here!?” Eugene rushed out of the camp they’d made in the rubble of Varian’s old house, brown eye going wide as he rushed to Rapunzel’s side.

Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose. “She keeps reaching too far and losing her balance.”

“Sorry,” Rapunzel sighed, staring at the cut almost numbly.

“Hey, Sunshine, it’s not your fault.” Eugene kissed her forehead. “I’ll get a bandage, okay?”

She looked up with a wobbly smile and a nod. “Okay. Thanks, Eugene.”

He smiled back before getting up to run and get her a bandage. From where, Rapunzel didn’t really know. They’d used up most of their medical supplies treating minor wounds and binding Adira’s hand, which was apparently somehow broken (nobody knew when or how that had happened—and she liked to pretend she couldn’t get hurt). Maybe he’d tear up a shirt and do it that way.

Cassandra crouched down to inspect the cut, humming. “It’ll scab over quick. But… uh, sorry. Guess I could’ve been a little more thoughtful.”  
“It’s okay. You’re teaching me how to fight and I’m not the _best_ student ever for this.” She gave a sheepish laugh.

“You wouldn’t even be in the top thirty. Or the middle thirty.” Cassandra laughed, gently pushing her shoulder. “But we’ll make a proper guard of you yet. Now get up and try again until your softie boyfriend gets back here with a bandage.”

Rapunzel’s grin widened into something more real. She hopped up, adjusting the sword in her grip and letting Cassandra guide her through a swing.

  
  


______________

  
  


Luna wrinkled her nose, hands on her hips. “This is what you call a fortress.”

Varian paused just before he placed the scroll in its chamber, a spherical work of art made from swirling and tapering black rock. “...Yeah? Is something wrong with it?”

She floated over to his worktable, tapping her fingers on one of the glass vials. It made a faint  _ ting  _ sound that echoed throughout the castle hold, making Varian wince. He’d had to scrounge a lot to find even just a few test tubes, and he still wasn’t sure exactly how fracture-resistant it was. “It’s a bit… odd. What are all of these for?”

“Alchemy!” He shrank when she cast him a sharp look, lowering his volume. He had to remember she didn’t like when he got too excited and started exclaiming everything. “Um, I mean… a-alchemy.”

“And why, pray tell, would you need such a rudimentary form of work when you possess the Moonstone’s— _ my _ —grand powers?”

A little tickle of unease brushed his heart, making the moonstone pulse. A stalagmite grew on the opposite wall before he could stop it ( _ you still can’t control it, you idiot _ ). “It’s… it’s fun. And, and it has a lot of benefits and uses! Like a sodium bomb formula I concocted—”

“Rubbish. All of it! Simply child’s play.” She swept a hand over his setup, something mad glimmering in her eyes—as if she was envisioning all of it swept off the table from pure force of her will. “You are  _ still  _ such a  _ child,  _ Varian darling. Can’t you please take this seriously?”

“I am,” he whispered in a tiny, tiny voice.

“Adira was right.” She sniffed. “Clean this up immediately.”

“But—”

“Varian!” Luna flew up to his face, glaring with her oversized eyes into his wide, scared ones. They were the same crystal blue as his natural ones—but they paled in comparison to the electric, alien blue he remembered seeing last time he looked in a mirror. “Listen to me. That moonstone you hold is my mind, my soul, my very  _ spirit.  _ Do you think this is a time to be thinking of yourself?”

He swallowed a heavy, thick lump in his throat. “....No.”

“Then stop. Stop and do something for someone who isn’t you, for once.”

The apologies came flooding up instinctually—but something held him back. Something important.

_ A red bottle of paint. A smile, a thank-you. _

“I do things for other people,” he said just under his breath, lifting his eyes to meet Luna’s.

“Oh? Like the time you tried to help your people with hot running water? That experiment ended in failure.” She grinned, leering and floating over him. “If you don’t believe me, we can go check the tanks in your old tunnels. They exploded just a week ago from the pressure.”

He quailed.

“Or perhaps you’re referring to the time you sabotaged Cassandra’s crossbow and got her dominant hand ruined for life. Did you notice how she still cradles her hand after she uses it, after so much time?”

“Stop, please,” he whispered, sinking against the wall and burying his fingers in glowing blue hair. “Stop, I—that was a  _ mistake _ —”

“Or,” she floated down to take his chin in her delicate lace-gloved hand, eyes open wide and crazed. “Or per _ haps  _ the time where you thought all of them were your friends and then tried so hard to go against my plans and  _ help them,  _ only for them to try and  _ kill you _ .”

A dam broke inside of him and Varian curled in on himself, gritting his teeth and pulling hard on his hair. He wondered briefly where his goggles had gone—when did he get rid of them? Had Luna asked him to or was this before he grabbed the moonstone? When had he lost his goggles?

When had he lost  _ himself? _

Luna let him sit there for a moment before walking over to pat his head gently. “You’ll overcome this challenge with time. For now, please, stop this mess and let us get back to the task at hand.”

“...’M sorry,” he sniffled thickly, wiping his nose on the back of his rock-covered arm.

She wrinkled her own nose. “All is forgiven, my dear. Now get up.”

He did.

His body shook like a leaf in autumn wind, his mind hid under the shadow of his fractured heart and refused to speak up. But he did. He got up. He got up because he wasn’t finished. Even when a project wasn’t working, Varian. Kept. Going.

And he would always keep going. Always.

_ Stay safe, Punzie. _

_________

  
  


Vardaros was just as dull and broken as Vex remembered it.

Dust caked the streets like frost on a winter morning. Wrinkled yet young people with leathery skin and more metal than teeth skulked through the alleys, eyeing Hector and his luxurious fur coat and golden hairbands. The sunlight overhead wasn’t soft like it was in the forest, but orangey and angry, cutting down to slice over Vex’s eyes and force her to squint.

The only break in the disgusting, dusty monotony was the crown jewel on Vardaros’s rusted crown: the Baron’s estate. Bright, shiny, clean, and sparkling with fountains, it was the only place in their backwater city that grew anything besides scrub and dead-looking trees. The Baron seemed to be growing more flowers this time of year, lily-of-the-valleys and rosebushes decorating the front gate.

Hector strode up to it, pulling sharply on Stelle’s lead when she protested. The guards eyed him skeptically, crossing their halberds over the gate.

“Stand aside,” he rolled his electric-yellow eyes, flicking down his katars. “I could kill you within the blink of an eye.”

“State your business with the Baron.”

Hector tilted his head, a black braid falling in his face and cutting his too-wide smile in half. “My business is my business. Let me in.”

“No—”

He didn’t get a chance to so much as finish his sentence. Vex squeezed her eyes shut, but she could still hear blood spurting across the parched ground and envision the red moisture seeping into dirt. The other guard squeaked something and soon they were moving again.

When she next opened her eyes, they were inside. The Baron was just looking up from his meal, frowning hard at the sight of Hector. His daughter Stalyan didn’t so much as spare them a passing glance. “Hector.” His voice was soft and serious as always, sending cold tendrils worming around Vex’s spine.

“Baron.” Hector smiled, sweeping a hand in front of himself to bow. “I’ve come with a gift.”

“...I have enough horses to supply the Coronan army. Try again.” Baron shook his head. “But not in my dining room, if you please.”

“Not the horse.” She could just hear the following  _ you idiot _ . Hector strode over to cut her ropes, wrenching both arms behind her and tossing her forward to land on the floor. She took it with a tumble, crying out in pain when her wounds pulled and struck the hard stone. “I found a brat you may know.”

“The little street rat.” Baron’s chuckle was enough to make her want to hide away in a tiny dark room forever. He stood slowly and she watched his shiny shoes walk lazily to her from under the table.

“Goldilocks,” she rasped back. “So nice to meet you again.”

“Cut the attitude, brat.” Stalyan stood, heels clicking as she joined her father and crouched down in front of Vex. She reached for her chin, growling as she brought Vex’s face up to look her in the eye. “You’re gonna help us.”

“Oh yeah? Help you with what? Put on some proper makeup instead of paint?”

Annoyance flashed in her eyes. “No. You’re going to help us find somebody. You remember your little goggly friend? The one who helped you ransack the estate and make a fool of me and Daddy?”

A very cold metal weight settled on top of her heart.

“Yeah. You’re gonna help us find him.”

__________

The key was much heavier than it should’ve been in Quirin’s hand. Perhaps it was the decision weighing him down rather than the thin slip of metal—the decision between believing an enemy and staying with a group of friends.

He could be messing up so badly.

Frederic was a poor sight to see. His cheeks sank, bones showed in his hands, and several gray streaks wandered through his hair and too-long beard that hadn’t been there before. Blue eyes stared from within deep dark circles.

The highest have the furthest to fall, he supposed.

“Quirin?” The king’s voice was raw and raspy. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making a choice.” He shoved the key into its lock and turned it, stepping back to let the cell door yawn open. He locked his hands behind his back, staring emotionlessly at the disheveled king.

Frederic rose slowly, watching Quirin’s every nonexistent move as he inched out of the cell. His face held so many questions, ones he knew he wouldn’t get an answer to. So instead, he simply asked, “...Why?”

“Don’t ask. Just leave.” Quirin turned, heading for the stairs. “They won’t link me to you if we hurry.”

“...Quirin…”

“ _ Go,  _ your Majesty. Your wife awaits in Old Corona, last we heard from the scouts. Join her.”

He gave Quirin a long, puzzled stare before finally running past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I found out I have inattentive ADHD??????
> 
> Explains a lot
> 
> Anyway xD gonna start moving into following canon a bit more now. And remind me to put Pascal's snake and Eugene getting his satchel back. Those are the main ones not tied into the main story. I gotta get those done and then mirror canon a ways and then... we should be set for finale?
> 
> I think so anyway. xD Watch me delve into my scene bank notes and find out that I'm on the completely wrong track now
> 
> But besides all that. Ik it's short, ik the last one was short, ik it's late. And I apologize for that. But I wanna assure everyone again this won't be abandoned. Thank you for sticking with me if you're still here!
> 
> See you next time!


	7. Carry On Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with huge plans and bigger goals, everyone takes a few days' time to reevaluate, make plans, and toughen their resolve.  
> It's been too long to stop now.
> 
> ______

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyyyyyyyy! Is back! I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter AND it reached the 3k goal!!! 
> 
> A good bit of Varian in this one and some heavier hinting on what's happening next. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> _________

Rapunzel stared into her tea mug, frowning at her own warped reflection. Eugene hadn’t been happy about the new bruises she’d collected over the few days sparring with Cassandra—and, honestly, she hadn’t either. But it was a small price to pay to finally be able to defend herself.

Pascal squeaked questioningly at her, tilting his head and reaching up to stand against the edge of her cup. She smiled weakly, reaching to gently pet his little head with a finger. “Hey, buddy. What’s up?”

He flicked his tongue out at her.

A long, heavy sigh puffed out of her chest, eyes turning to the sky above. She should really be getting down—finally having her mother here made it so much more clear that she was a _princess._ Princesses probably didn’t sleep on hair hammocks suspended from ruined buildings. But she didn’t want to go back down to camp yet; she’d even turned down Eugene when he came to check up on her. Politely and gratefully, of course, but still. Other than Pascal…

There was just so much stress. One thing after another. After all she’d gone through already, she didn’t think it was terribly unfair to expect just a little more from life. 

But then, maybe that was entitled of her. She had gotten to live her life in peace and relative safety, even if it was under Gothel. All of that while the kingdom of Corona dealt with things like the Baron and the Saporians and… whatever else had possibly found its way here. All that time, spent happy and safe, while everyone else suffered. While _her people_ suffered.

She finally sighed and reached to unhook her hair from a rafter, lowering herself down. Pascal clung to her shoulder, chirping as her bare feet touched the ground. Adira had told her multiple times to find shoes to protect her feet against the torn-up stone floor, and she had tried on a spare pair they’d found in one of the bedrooms. But they were too clunky and heavy and she couldn’t feel the earth under her feet.

“Rapunzel?”

She spun, heart hammering against her ribs—but she relaxed as soon as she saw who it was. Just the queen, searching over her with that small, concerned frown she always made. “...Hi, Your Majesty.”

Arianna looked like she wanted to correct that, but she closed her mouth before she could. After a moment, she cleared her throat. “It’s early.”

“Is it?” Rapunzel sighed, reaching up to pet Pascal. It was better than pulling her own hair out. “I… I guess I didn’t sleep all night. Kinda funny, huh? Like, duh, Brain, I need sleep at night, please!” She laughed, but it came out weaker than she intended.

Arianna didn’t smile. She gestured to the table, half-destroyed by the incident with Varian about a week ago now. It still had enough room for three people to sit at, though, and the queen took the far left one to leave Rapunzel a choice: sit closer to her or keep her distance.

Rapunzel chose the far left seat.

Arianna, if there was any disappointment, didn’t show it. “Are you ready to leave out in the morning?”

“Leave out…?”

“Yes. We can’t continue to stay in this wreckage of a house.” Arianna looked around, eyes lingering on the spot where she and Edmund had been tied down. “We’re going to find a base of operations somewhere and work on finding allies. We don’t know where yet, but traveling aimlessly would still be safer than staying here. We don’t know what Varian’s plan is, but we can at least make it harder for him to accomplish while we work things out.”

Rapunzel’s shoulders sagged and she looked down at Pascal, meeting his eyes. “...No one told me.”

“We thought you were asleep up there. And we kept it quiet.” Arianna did sound sorry, but then again, so had Mother. “Eugene was going to tell you in the morning.”

Rapunzel looked up quickly. “...Of course he was. He’s my boyfriend.” She hadn’t doubted him a moment. Or less, even! 

“Anyway. The Royal Guards who left to capture you will be returning any day. If someone can scout around the castle while the rest of the group moves, we can get them on our side.” Noting the fear in Rapunzel’s expression at that, Arianna’s eyes softened. “They won’t hurt you. Your father ordered them to go find you and apprehend Eugene under the impression that he kidnapped you. Which I know now isn’t the case.”

Rapunzel nodded slowly. 

“So now we wait for them to come back and I get them on our side.” She spread her arms. “Captain Eliot will do all he can to aid once he learns of what’s happened here. And I believe Adira would be the perfect person to send in search of him. She has the strength to make it there and the authority about her to make him listen.”

“What about Cassandra?”

“I offered to stay here and keep training you.” Rapunzel whirled around in her seat to see Cassandra standing there against the wall, mug in her good hand. Her dark lips pulled into the tiniest of smiles in one corner. “You’ve got determination, but no skill. And if we’re going to be taking back your kingdom, you need to be able to fight.”

“...Right.” Rapunzel sighed. “On that. Um, I don’t… I don’t think I can use a sword.”

“Beg pardon?”

“It’s too…” she mimed swinging it a few times, brow puckering. Pascal chirped. “Yeah, buddy. It’s too heavy.”

“You just need strength.”

She bit her lip, eyes straying to the kitchen. “Isn’t there a frying pan in there somewhere? Or even a skillet?”

“What’s the dif—” Cassandra shook her head. “No, you’re not going to fight Saporians and Equis soldiers with cookware. That’s insanity.”

“Tell Eugene that,” she murmured under her breath, then raised her voice a little. “That’s what I know how to fight with. So… please?”

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. She looked between the two of them before huffing and throwing her bad hand up—and then hissing out a curse. “Fine. You prove to me you can fight swords with a frying pan and I’ll start training you that way. How, I don’t know, but—”

She cut off, stumbling a little when Rapunzel threw herself into a hug. “Thank you!”

“Uh… sure, I guess.” She awkwardly patted Rapunzel’s head with the two fingers she wasn’t using to hold her mug, though she couldn’t keep herself from smiling just a little bit. 

After a moment, Rapunzel pulled back, clasping her hands in front of her and grinning. Her toes wriggled. “So when do we start?”

“Uh, in the morning. It’s like four AM right now.” Cassandra took a sip of her tea. “I’m going to bed. It’s Lance’s turn for patrol now.”

“...Right.” Rapunzel hesitated. “Can I not patrol for a turn? Maximus would keep me safe.”

“No. You’re much too important. What if Varian came back?”

Her shoulders fell. She knew Cass was right, deep down inside, but… she felt so useless.

“You can’t expect to train three times and be a master, Raps.” She set down her mug, patting Rapunzel’s bony shoulder. Pascal skittered up her arm and settled on Cass’s shoulder instead, squeaking and flicking his tongue up at her. She ignored him.

“I’m not!” Her voice came out a little louder than she meant it to and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “I… I mean, I’m not, I promise. I just really don’t think I’m meant to hold a sword. Besides, I knocked Eugene out with a frying pan like three times when we first met.”

Cassandra stared at her a second before snorting. “...Really?”

“Yeah. He, um, I was scared. I thought he was an intruder.” Which he had been. But not the kind she should’ve been so fearful of.

“That’s hilarious. I’m gonna have to fact check that with him.” Her grin was devious. “To think, all Dad needed to do was knock Flynn Rider over with a frying pan and he was caught.”

“Yeah. I’m glad he didn’t.”

“Oh, me too, now. But it was infuriating trying to catch up to him. We got him delivered to us on a silver platter and then he escaped _again._ That was when he realized your situation, I guess. Knew he had to go help you.”

Rapunzel always loved Eugene dearly, but hearing those sorts of things always made it burn a little brighter in the depths of her chest. She fought back a smile and gently touched her rosy cheeks with a cold, thin hand. “I guess so.”

Arianna’s smile grew soft. “I think we should all go to bed. There’s lots to do in the morning.”

“Right.” Cassandra nodded to Rapunzel. “Sleep tight, Highness. We’re starting to retake your kingdom tomorrow.”

“I will.” She stood, walking over to fetch Pascal and hug Cassandra one more time before heading into one of the minimally-destroyed bedrooms, looking for somewhere to hang from for the night.

They’d start fixing things. In the morning.

____________

“Have you made any progress, sweetheart?” Luna hung over Varian’s head like a guardian angel, tiny hands clasped with what looked like concern. Even her tone was sweet and soft, like she’d done a complete turnaround over the past few days they’d been working together on his fortress.

Maybe she had been stressed or something. Or he’d been exceedingly stupid and just hadn’t known. Whatever the case, he was glad to have the Luna he knew back. It let him know he was on the right track—doing the right thing. In this case, that meant translating the Demanitus scroll.

“I’m about halfway through,” he murmured, scratching out symbols and letters on a piece of paper beside the scroll. He’d magicked up a work desk from the rocks, grand and lined with more black spikes that made it look made of crystal. He was very fond of it—it looked like what he’d always imagined a true alchemist’s setup to be, matched the rest of the fortress. Grandiose, mysterious, a little bit dark. Hidden away where nobody else could find it, a forgotten corner of Corona. 

The old destroyed dam was just a while away, well within running distance. It had been abandoned, used as a squatting ground for criminals ever since the Coronan guards had chased Rapunzel and Eugene through it months ago. That would be his first training ground—no, his testing ground. He would show up one night when the moon was full and power surged through him… and then he would test out what his powers could do.

After all, it had been proven that he couldn’t get to Rapunzel without fighting. His two options thus far were to fight his way through her allies and bring her here, _or_ to gain Rapunzel’s trust through helping her overtake the Saporians currently inhabiting the castle grounds. Neither option sounded easy, but perhaps—if he only worked hard enough—he could make it easy.

That would take figuring out this scroll, however.

It was a mystery. A puzzle made from words. Every now and again he would feel like giving up, only to uncover a missing piece of information and get excited all over again. Luna had to keep pushing him to go find food outside, insisting that he at least take care of his base needs. She seemed annoyed with him every time, and he could imagine why. It must be a nuisance, dealing with his self-destructive habits. He was grateful to her for keeping on top of it while he worked.

He didn’t have any time to lose, after all. Rapunzel would be planning, and those plans likely included taking him down and getting the moonstone back. She still didn’t understand what it would do—she wouldn’t listen to anyone trying to convince her that it would kill her to take both. He _had_ to translate this scroll and get her to listen. By force if he had to. Punzie couldn’t die. He couldn’t hurt another person through laziness or negligence. This was his penance for being as he was, for not trying hard enough before. Leaving Cassandra’s crossbow unfinished when he should’ve stayed up that night to finish it.

His fingers froze up, joints locking under a layer of thin black rock. He grit his teeth, changed hands, and carried on, ignoring the sunlight slowly disappearing from his barred window. His eyes were no longer limited to seeing in the daytime, no longer constrained to human barriers. Besides, even if they were, his hair provided more than enough luminescence to see by.

This would very likely be another sleepless night. But that was okay—every passing day, the moonstone fed into him a little more, burrowing further and further into his skin. Fusing with him. And every passing day, he was able to put a little more power in place of human energy. Soon he wouldn’t even need sleep—a thought that _fascinated_ him. Fascinated, and yet scared. What was he becoming?

What was needed to save Punzie and Corona, it seemed.

And he was fine with that.

___________

“Pretty princesses don’t live long out in the wilderness.” Vex broke a branch over her knee, tossing them into the fire while leveling her gaze at Stalyan. Her hood cast shadows over goggles, hazel eyes sparkling with the same hatred that lit up her tiny, thin smile.

“Good thing I’m not a princess.” Stalyan snapped her compact closed, narrowing her eyes at Vex and lowering her lipstick. She’d missed a spot; Vex briefly wondered if it would be funnier to let it stay like that or humiliate her by saying something. “Princesses hide away behind their guards and boyfriend. _I_ take what I want. And pay for it in blood, if there must be a price.”

Vex whistled. “Careful. Don’t cut yourself on that edge.”

Stalyan tipped her head back and laughed, hand over her chest. “How old do you truly think you are, child?”

“Old. Enough.” She grabbed the poker and held it up at her, tip glowing red-hot. Smoke and sparks flitted up to the trees and through thick oak branches. “How great do you think you are, hot stuff? You’re playing with fire, taking a Dark Knight like this.”

“You keep saying these things, and yet I haven’t seen anything come of it.” Stalyan’s eyes glimmered. “Besides, you only ever have the bravery to do it when my father isn’t here. You’re scared, little girl, and you just don’t want to admit it.”

Vex stepped up closer. “You must’ve spent a _fortune_ on convincing him if he took me to you instead of killing me or using me as bait for Adira. Either that, or you have some serious blackmail on him.”

Stalyan cocked her wide hips, smirking and crossing her arms. “What about it?”

“It all circles back to the same question: why me?” Vex laughed, sharp and low and cold. “If I’m such a scared, helpless little girl, why would you use all of that simply to get my help?”

“You know the boy best. Make no mistake: this is not about you or your boyfriend. It’s about the rock.”

“Moonstone. And he’s not my—”

“Whatever. The magic rock. Somehow, that puny kid ended up with it. He’s been leaving a trail of destruction all the way through Pincosta, Vardaros, way back to Corona. He doesn’t know what he has or what he’s doing with it.”

Vex shook. “He took it to protect his friend. But I guess you wouldn’t understand _compassion,_ would you, princess?”

She waved a gloved hand. “Power corrupts. His thought process won’t be the same as it was before. He’s lost in power: my father and I are comfortable with it. We know how to use it. And use it we will.”

“To do what? You already lord over that wasteland I called a home. What more do you want from this world?”

“There are always bigger goals. Always more things to reach for. You’re a dirt-poor, orphaned street urchin.” Her crimson grin widened, a mocking quality saturating her tone. “But I guess you wouldn’t understand, would you, Vex?”

“You’re a—”

“Put down the poker.”

Vex froze, looking over her shoulder. The soft voice of the Baron sent chills down her spine, but the sight of him looming over her was enough to make her stomach flip-flop. She dropped it as if it had burned through her leather gloves, biting her tongue.

The Baron moved past her to the fire, eyeing it disapprovingly. Too small for him, apparently. What did he want, a bonfire? “We’re about a day from the castle. Once there, we’ll investigate and see if there have been any sightings of the boy. If there have, we’ll track him down.”

 _Good luck with that._ Vex turned away, heading for the soft patch of grass she’d found earlier and eyeing their bedrolls enviously. They could try to track down Varian if they wanted, but it was useless.

Stelle and Ruddiger had been let free a while ago, told to go find Varian if they could. Vex had been punished severely for that decision, but it had been worth it. At least she knew, wherever Varian was, he had friends looking for him who _weren’t_ being forced to aid in his capture.

Maybe they’d find him. Maybe they’d help him hide or escape.

She could only hope.

__________

Frederic went everywhere looking for escape. He had almost been caught by several guard patrols and nearly killed by one; blood soaked into the tatters that remained of his shirt and he had splinters from a broken arrow shaft lodged in his shoulder. It took days for him to find his first food: a loaf of bread offered him by a kindly traveler. It was little more than crumbs in his wily beard now, his stomach reduced to low growls and unpleasant noises.

Just a little further. Just a little further and he could find his wife, figure out his next move from here. Retake his kingdom, start up the search for his daughter once more. Frederic would not be defeated.

Not again.

Lights filled his vision with images of blurry pumpkins right before he collapsed.


	8. Papa Bear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some things Edmund needs to get out of the way--things he's been neglecting since he first saw his son for the first time in years.
> 
> ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm really sorry it's late this month, and that I haven't replied to any comments. I've been reading them, just... for some reason, I haven't been able to work up the effort to respond. I love them though!! You're not going unseen, I promise <3
> 
> And because this has been so hard lately, I've rewritten some stuff. The snake scene and satchel will be coming up very soon, probably in the next chapter in fact, and then we'll be moving on quick from there. It's a bit shorter than I originally planned, but at the current painfully slow pace and rate of motivation, I feel like it's the best option to actually get this finished. And I do want to get it finished, both for my peace of mind and for anyone who's still reading. (Plus I promised and I don't break promises. Ever. *cue Pascal nodding*)
> 
> Thank you for following this, so long after the show's ended. Love you all! <3
> 
> _____

“Woooo! C’mon, Sunshine!” Eugene cheered as loud as he could through cupped palms, ignoring Pascal trying to hang on to his shoulder for dear life. Maximus snorted out a breath behind him, stomping a hoof into the ground and whinnying in his own form of cheer. Fidella rolled her eyes and swished her tail, but she kept her gaze firmly on Cassandra as she leapt and parried. Not like any of them expected Cass to lose—she could beat Rapunzel in two seconds flat if she wanted to. She only dragged it out because of training.

Rapunzel, who’d tied her hair up into a multitude of golden knots and plaits, ducked under a swordstrike and slammed an old steel frying pan up to meet it. The resulting metallic  _ clang  _ was enough to make Eugene’s teeth hurt, but he kept grinning, balling his fists and pumping them into the air. “Get her!”

“I’m trying!” She swept out of the way, making a kick for the back of Cassandra’s knees—a kick that she completely avoided before spinning, grabbing Rapunzel’s leg, and slinging her off-balance and tumbling into the grass.

Cassandra put her bad hand gingerly on her hip, pointing her sword at Rapunzel with the other. “I win.”

“You always win.” Rapunzel pushed herself up, rubbing her backside and huffing.

“Yeah, because you’re using that stupid pan instead of a real sword.” She tossed hers up, watching it spin in the air before catching it by the hilt again and shoving it into its sheath. “See, if you used a sword, we wouldn’t have this issue.”

“No, I’m telling you, I can use this!” Rapunzel shifted her grip on the pan, rolling her shoulders. “One more time. C’mon, please?”

“No. I told you, if you could beat me, I’d admit you can fight well enough with a pan. But you can’t, so.” She twirled her sword. “Besides, I’m rusty and have a messed-up hand. If you can’t beat me now, there’s no way you’re going to be able to fight Saporian soldiers.” Cassandra spun on her heel, heading back into the wrecked house.

Rapunzel’s shoulders dropped. Pascal chirped, sounding concerned as she dragged her feet over to drop beside Eugene and lay her head on his shoulder, dropping the pan to the ground below. He patted her head and reached around to hug her.

“...Eugene, am I weak?”

“No.” He stroked her hair, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

She was silent for a while, reaching up to play around the hem of his vest. “So… why can I never do anything right?”

He pulled back, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “What do you mean?”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Just… everything. Varian. This.”

“That’s two things, Sunshine. Besides, no, anyone would’ve struggled with that stuff. It’s hard.” He tugged on a strand of hair that had fallen loose, smiling sideways. “You’ve remained positive and happy throughout all of this. Never let it get you down. You’ve been through  _ so much _ , Rapunzel. Give yourself some slack.”

“I’m the Sundrop. There’s—there’s no slack to give, Eugene.” She looked up, rubbing one of her tired eyes. “My kingdom was taken over and I failed to take the Moonstone first. This is all my responsibility and I can’t  _ do  _ anything I need to.”

“...Sunshine, that’s not fair to you—”

“I’ve learned a lot of things after coming out here into the real world.” She looked down at her hands, stared at her growing calluses and chipped nails. “One of them being, life isn’t fair.”

He sighed, something heavy settling in his chest as he hugged her close, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

She was quiet for a long while before she finally pulled back, rubbing her nose. “I forgot to tell you. King Edmund was asking about you this morning. I think he wants to talk.”

King Edmund.

_ “I have your father!” Crystalline blue eyes glowed, wide open and scared. Truthful, honest, in their fear. _

That hadn’t been a message to take lightly. Varian, for all he’d done, would never lie about something like that. Something brash and sudden like that, combined with Edmund’s reaction…

“Did he say about what?”

“No.” She stood, brushing her hair out of her face with a deep sigh, exhaling slowly. A smile replaced all the other emotions that had just been fighting over her features. “You should go talk to him, though. I’m gonna go plead with Cass until she gives me another shot.”

“...Are you sure? If you need a break—”

“Then I’d take a break. But I don’t.” She leaned down to kiss him. “Go find him and take care of business.”

“Okay.” He blew out a tight breath, offering her a small smile before he stood as well, walking back into the house.

Lance looked up from playing hopscotch with the girls at just the wrong time—his foot slipped and he shouted, arms windmilling for a few brief moments before he fell flat on his face. Red gasped with her hands over her mouth, but Angry just grinned and plopped down on his head to check her nails.

Eugene shook his head. Part of him wondered if Lance acted like this on purpose… he did like to make people laugh, and the girls had him wrapped and stretched tight between their little fingers. “Has anyone seen King Edmund?” 

“Nah, he ran off with Adira this morning to go talk.” Angry fixed her ponytail. “Why you need him?”

“We have to talk about something.”

“About what?”

“Something  _ private _ . I—”

Something tugged on his vest. He glanced down, finding Red bouncing up on her tiptoes. “They’re out behind the house,” she whispered. “By the apple trees.”

“Thanks, kid.” He ruffled her hair, stepping over Lance and towards the back door. “Don’t let them beat you up too badly.”

“Nah, they’re just kids— _ oof _ .” He coughed as Angry bounced on him once again for good measure. Eugene shook his head with a quiet laugh, heading outside back into the warm sunlight. 

Old Corona was beautiful this time of year. Critters darted in and out of bushes and clumps of grass, butterflies and bees flitted around and bumped into one another, water babbled somewhere out of sight. Back in his thieving days—how long had it been? It felt like an eternity ago, even though it was probably only about a year—he had never slowed down to look at things, to think about how soft the grass was or how colorful the flowers were, or how the little fluffy rabbits in the brush probably had their own little nest burrowed away somewhere close.

Rapunzel had done so much just in those three short days—so much to open his eyes and show him the world like he’d never seen it before. She was a blessing, pure and simple. A blessing with pretty green eyes and a smile that could light up the dark side of the moon.

“—why we can’t keep going here, Majesty.” Adira’s voice came from just around the tree he’d approached, dragging Eugene to a standstill. “Queen Arianna is doing a wonderful thing, but she doesn’t know what she’s dealing with. The Sundrop is our key to all of this, not just her daughter.”

“The Sundrop’s name is Rapunzel, and she is my future daughter-in-law.”

An impatient breath huffed out. “Your future daughter-in-law? You barely know your own son, Majesty! If there was ever a case to not let your emotions get into the way of things—”

“You make a fine case, Adira. What about that little girl you decided to take under your wing? She wasn’t beneficial to any of your plans you cooked up, and yet you still have her.”

“I am not the Dark King.”

“And why does my station matter? Our kingdom is ashes and gravel. My crown is a worthless paperweight. I hold no sway in anything but my own actions. I am not a king.”

“Then you have truly given up.” The ground gently crunched under her great fur-lined boots as Adira’s head of white hair appeared in Eugene’s vision, heading off down the hill and towards somewhere no one would ever think to look. She disappeared well and often, to the point that sometimes they all wondered if she was anywhere at all.

Well, that was his chance. Eugene edged around the tree, watching Edmund sigh heavily and run a few fingers through his long chestnut hair, crown held precariously between his pinkie and index.

“...Your Majesty?”  
Edmund jumped a little in place, turning sharp eyes to Eugene and reaching back for his axe. When he realized who it was, his giant frame relaxed, turning to face him. “How much of that did you hear?”

“A good amount.” He eyed Edmund. “What does Adira want?”

“She wants to speed up the process. Thinks we’re wasting too much time here, answering to Queen Arianna.” He set his crown back on his head, tugging at his mustache. “You see…she’s always been a very independent person, even as my personal knight. No one could ever tell her what to do, even though she was supposed to follow every order I presented to her. Hector tried to tell her off once and she broke his nose, nearly his back too.”

Eugene laughed a little with him, even though the humor was drowned out by everything else weighing down on his mind. Edmund smiled, but they both knew it was just for show.

“I’m supposing you were told I was looking for you.”

“Yes.”

He grunted. “...I wanted to reveal it to you myself. Talk it out properly.”

“But you waited all this time? We’ve been traveling together for a while now and you waited for the kid to blurt something out—how did he learn, anyway? Who’d have told him?”

“I don’t know.” Edmund rubbed his temples. “But what matters now is that you know. And you deserve an explanation.” 

“Yeah. I do.” Eugene crossed his arms, sinking to sit against the tree trunk. “Give me your story, old man. Why did I end up in an orphanage instead of growing up a prince?”

“...It’s a long story. But, put simply.” He hesitated. “The Dark Kingdom...Lunaris, in its glory days—it was one of the greatest in history, rivaling Corona in its size and prosperity. We were a happy people, living under the protection and mystique of the Moonstone. It was a peaceable guardian, erecting walls around itself and our lands. We regarded it as our guide throughout the kingdom’s history, throughout all our rulers—all your ancestors. It kept us safe and we took the territory it claimed.”

Eugene frowned, watching the giant of a king sit in front of him with his legs crossed. “What does that have to do with me?”

“I’m getting to that. Geez, Edmund, your child has no patience.” He mumbled the last bit, ignoring Eugene’s sharp look. “By the time you were born, the Moonstone had begun to act...strange. Erratic. Our walls began to fall, retreat back into the earth… it started forming a shell around itself, destroyed the entire hold we built for it. The rocks no longer responded to our touch unless to protect the Stone. And soon...it was beginning to destroy the Kingdom.”

Eugene’s expression had faded into something more serious. Edmund looked up, meeting his eyes. There was something...dark, heavy, behind them, something he hadn’t seen before. “You were sent away as a young child along with all the other civilians. It was for the best. Your mother, she…”

“She died?”

Edmund was still for a long moment before nodding, reaching up to take off his crown and stare at it. “She died trying to help me. And in a fit of rage, I tried to take the Moonstone. And… I lost my arm to its rage.”

“You lost your…” 

Then how did Varian have it? What made him special?

Edmund chuckled, catching him off-guard, as he put his crown back atop his head. “I’ve been watching you by way of my crows. They’ve always kept up with you and reported back to me. Hamuel brought me back a wanted poster once.”

“So that’s how you knew.”

He nodded. “I was… shocked to learn how you’d turned out. I had half a mind to leave and go find you, set you straight. But...I had a job to serve. People to protect. You saw what happened when someone took the Moonstone.” A sigh left him as his brows furrowed. “...All those years. All for naught.”

“I have one more question.”

“Name it.”

“Eugene. Why that name? I had to go my whole childhood being called  _ Eugene _ .”

“Oh, don’t look at me. Your birth name was Horace.”

He pulled a face, curling his nose and leaning back. “Uh, never mind, I like Eugene.”

Edmund broke into laughter, a hand resting on his chest. And, after a moment, he joined in too. The conversation turned to lighter things, like Rapunzel and Lance and his days in the orphanage, and the tension slid away.

Adira watched from above, a tiny smile on her lips.

___________

Varian’s breath had become labored about four hours ago. His vision had begun to waver at two. Thirty minutes ago, he’d begun to sweat. It was fascinating, how lack of sleep affected the human body. Sometime he should research it, see what differed between someone running on magic and someone functioning by normal human means.

But for now, he was focused on one thing and one thing only: translating the Demanitus Scroll.

Even Luna had disappeared, maybe to rest her consciousness. For all he knew, she never got physically tired. He didn’t really know much about her existence, what she was… he should probably ask sometime, but there were so many more things to be discovering. The world was truly his oyster, ready to be cracked open by the power of the moon. He was  _ reading Demanitus’s writing.  _ How many years he had waited for a day like this! How many nights he’d spent dreaming!

A noble scientist with a noble goal: to protect the world from ruin and keep his friend alive. An underdog, misunderstood by everyone...but soon they would all get it. They’d all understand, see that he was the hero here. He just had to keep going. Keep trying!

Luna appeared just as he burst into laughter, dancing around the room with the scroll in hand. It made him dizzy, and his laughs bounced inside his head and tickled his overheating brain—but it felt so good to laugh. He hadn’t in so long and he  _ deserved  _ it. Such a wonderful accomplishment!

“Varian!” Luna’s voice snapped his attention to her, though he kept smiling wide. There were two—three?— of her and it looking kind of hilarious. She sighed, hand to her cheek as she looked him over. “You’re exhausted, darling. You’ve started to go silly.”

“But I’ve done it, Luna! The incantation!” He fell into mad giggles, burying a hand in his glowing hair to ground himself. “Crescent high above—”

A pulse went through him, sizzling his skin and through the walls of his fortress. Blue light followed it, electric and cold. Luna clapped a hand to his mouth, gently taking the scroll from him and setting it on his desk. “You’ve done well, darling. But you’re in no state to be using something like this. Please, sleep.”

“But you haven’t told me the rest of the plan yet—”

“Sleep, Varian.” She settled both hands on her hips. “If you’re to be of any use at all, you have to take care of yourself. You want to make everyone proud, don’t you?”

He nodded, though it made the room swim around him.

“Then go get some rest.” She floated closer, pressing a light kiss to his forehead. “We’ll take the capital when you wake up, and then Rapunzel will dance right into your palm. But until then, you  _ have  _ to rest your body.”

He nodded again, finally letting his muscles relax—and as soon as he did, his frame dropped, face smacking onto the black rock floor. In seconds, perhaps less, he was dead to the world, glow fading from his hair and leaving it a dull lifeless blue.

Luna tilted her head to the side, a wide, toothy smile pulling at her lips. She floated back over to the scroll, eyes roaming over it and Varian’s translation sheel before rolling it up and sticking it into one of the drawers. Couldn’t have anyone else finding it.

“Soon,” she murmured under her breath. “Soon everything will come together. And soon, Demanitus—do you hear me?—I’ll finish what we started.” A laugh curved her features into something wickedly sharp and she turned back to Varian, eyes crinkling with excitement. “Thank you, my beautiful boy. You’ve been such a good help.”

He smiled in his sleep. 


End file.
